1. Chapter 4 is about the issues that arise when we are forced to identify by race and gender. A role of power is created when someone is labeled as either male or female; male being the dominant power and female being more submissive. In regards to identifying someone by their race, the author argues that the culture of the less accepted race will be faded out as the more dominant culture takes over. She uses the example of her grandmother refusing to learn English to explain this point. Chapter 5 focuses on stereotypes that exist in the Latino/a community. The author explains how her ethnicity is used to define her and that people have a predetermined assumption of her lifestyle because of it. The issue of “blacks v. Latinos/as” is
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Each of the articles presents the issue of labeling mostly in a negative way. It is clear after reading these stories that labeling almost always has a negative effect on whomever it is being done to. In chapter 4, for example, the author talks about a job interview in which she was labeled as Latina before her interviewers even met her. After they realized she was not the stereotypical “Latina” they had expected, they decided she was not fit for the job. This situation could have been avoided if the interviewers had not had a predetermined label for the author just because she had a Latino sounding name. Chapter 5 introduces the idea of “others” that has been created in the United States culture. This is the idea that Latinos/as are presented as being separate from the rest of the white American; making a subconscious decision to view our status as “us v. them.” Chapters 11 and 13 present the issue of labeling using the labor force. Latinos/as are seen as “others” in the work place, and are only there when it is convenient for American laborers. Chapters 18 and 19 discuss how people from Latin American countries in America are viewed in a different way than they would be in their home country. And, of course, a label is slapped onto them and they are presumed to act a certain way.
3. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans all have very diverse backgrounds and stories. They have all come to the United States from different environments and for different reasons. When they get here, however, it seems like they are all treated the same. They are given the label “Latino/a” and they are immediately grouped into the same category where they face social, economic, and political
Each of the articles presents the issue of labeling mostly in a negative way. It is clear after reading these stories that labeling almost always has a negative effect on whomever it is being done to. In chapter 4, for example, the author talks about a job interview in which she was labeled as Latina before her interviewers even met her. After they realized she was not the stereotypical “Latina” they had expected, they decided she was not fit for the job. This situation could have been avoided if the interviewers had not had a predetermined label for the author just because she had a Latino sounding name. Chapter 5 introduces the idea of “others” that has been created in the United States culture. This is the idea that Latinos/as are presented as being separate from the rest of the white American; making a subconscious decision to view our status as “us v. them.” Chapters 11 and 13 present the issue of labeling using the labor force. Latinos/as are seen as “others” in the work place, and are only there when it is convenient for American laborers. Chapters 18 and 19 discuss how people from Latin American countries in America are viewed in a different way than they would be in their home country. And, of course, a label is slapped onto them and they are presumed to act a certain way.
3. Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans all have very diverse backgrounds and stories. They have all come to the United States from different environments and for different reasons. When they get here, however, it seems like they are all treated the same. They are given the label “Latino/a” and they are immediately grouped into the same category where they face social, economic, and political