Latinas, Sexuality and the Media: Subverting Sexual Dichotomies in Latino/a Culture

• In Event: 106 - Open Refereed Roundtable Session I
  In Refereed Roundtable: A. Table 11. Latina/o Sociology

Abstract

This paper examines how Latina/o religion and culture are predisposed to a harmful and limiting dichotomy for Latina sexuality through the role of an asexualizing religious imagery and overly sexualized popular culture. The resulting consequence is the perception (and reality) that Latinas are an at risk population for unwed pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections because they are ill informed about sex or remain in communities where premarital sex acts are highly stigmatized. Although parents are talking to their daughters more about sexuality, Lorena Garcia’s research points us to the complexity of enacting safe sex and the stigma young Latinas face should they chose to be sexual. Latina/o culture holds fast to stereotypical gender roles that girls and women feel compelled to fulfill that are ultimately rooted in marianismo. Using Evelyn Steven’s term, I will analyze the dominant narrative for Latina sexuality in Latina/o religion and culture, which still reveres the image of the sexually pure woman, while also feeding us the image of the seductress in popular culture. A different source, films made largely from Latina/o filmmakers, are using their medium to subvert dominant narratives and have created spaces where Latinas do not have to fit within a virgin/whore binary. Instead, Latinas are resexualized without loosing their self-worth. This paper points us towards the gray area of the real within the reel, where Latinas engage in healthy and informed sexuality, while also arguing for how Latina/o culture and religion should stop stigmatizing Latina/os who engage their sexuality.

Author

• Wendy Arce, Graduate Theological Union