White Hispanic and Latino Americans - Representation in The Media

Representation in The Media

Contrary to their purpose, in popular use Hispanic and Latino are often given racial values, usually non-white and mixed race, such as half-caste or mulatto, in spite of the racial diversity of Hispanic and Latino Americans. Hispanics commonly draw ancestry from European, African, and Native American populations in different proportions; some Hispanics are entirely of European ancestry, some are of African ancestry, and some are predominantly of Native Central or South American origin; but a large number Hispanics are descended from an admixture of two, three or more origins. Paradoxically, it is common for them to be stereotyped as being exclusively non-white due merely to their Spanish-speaking country of origin, regardless of whether their ancestry is European or not. Judith Ortiz Cofer notes that appellation varies according to geographical location, observing that in Puerto Rico she is considered to be a white person, but in the United States she is considered to be a "brown person."

On the other hand, since the early days of the movie industry in the U.S., when White Hispanic actors are given roles, they are frequently cast in non-Hispanic white roles. Hispanic and Latino Americans began to appear in the US movie industry in the 1910s, and the leading players among them "were generally light skinned and Caucasian".

Myrtle Gonzalez was one such American actress in the silent film era; she starred in at least 78 motion pictures from 1913 to 1917. Anita Page was an American actress of Spanish and Salvadoran descent who reached stardom in 1928, during the last years of the silent film. Page was referred to as "a blond, blue-eyed Latin" and "the girl with the most beautiful face in Hollywood".

Even in the current day, because Americans associate Hispanic origin with brown and olive skin, Hollywood has difficulty making a place for Hispanics with conventionally Caucasian features and will typically sell them as non-Hispanic white, as in the case of Cameron Díaz, Emilio Estévez and Charlie Sheen. Most Americans may not be aware that the actress who played "all-American" Gilmore Girl Lorelai Leigh "Rory" Gilmore — Alexis Bledel — is also Hispanic, with a mother from Mexico and father from Argentina. The only White Hispanics who are associated by Americans as Hispanics are having typical Southern European appearance.

Some accuse the U.S. Hispanic media and the Latin American media of over-representing White Hispanic and Latino Americans and White Latin Americans (very often blond and blue-eyed or green-eyed), particularly in telenovelas (soap operas), while underrepresenting majority of non-white Hispanic and Latino Americans and non-white Latin Americans, amid claims that telenovelas, in particular, do not reflect the racial spectrum of Hispanic and Latino Americans. For example, in the 2005 U.S. Hispanic telenovela Olvidarte Jamas, white, blond, and blue-eyed Venezuelan American actress Sonya Smith portrayed Luisa Dominguez who is a poor mestiza woman; the actress had to wear a black wig to hide her obvious Caucasian appearance.