The Myth Of The Latin Woman By Judith Ortiz Cofer - 892 Words

Inequalities within minorities is not limited to economic unfairness but also social inequity. The second story that shows how inequality within minorities is â€Å"The Myth of the Latin Woman† by Judith Ortiz Cofer. â€Å"The Myth of the Latin Woman† is an essay based on the real life experiences of Judith Ortiz Cofer. The story talks about the racist inequalities she has went through as a women of Hispanic descent. â€Å"a young man, obviously fresh from a pub, spotted me and as if struck by inspiration went down on his knees in the aisle. With both hands over his hearts he broke into an an Irish tenor’s rendition of Maria from West Side Story†. The author retells one of her experiences from earing graduate credits one summer and she is met by someone whom ignorantly makes racists remark simply because she is Latina. Furthermore in the story Cofer mentions how people gave the man a round of applause. â€Å"amused fellow passengers gave his voice the rou nd of gentle applause† (Page 61). This shows that it is acceptable to generalize an ethnic group into a character from West Side Story. In addition to the unfair generalization, Cofer is confronted unfair expectations. I thought you Latin girls were supposed to mature early†. This is unfair assumption made to Cofer. She is treated like a vegetable rather than a girl who traditionally grows into womanhood. This also generalizes Latin women to be matured at a young age. Which is incorrect just because Latinas fall into a small category in societyShow MoreRelatedJudith Ortiz Cofer s The Myth Of The Latin Woman997 Words   |  4 Pagescampfire. This hasn t been the first time I have heard similar remarks, whether it is because I am a woman or a homeschooler. That doesn t make me dumb, lazy or lack social skills. Though most are just myths created by people who make assumptions based on previous experiences with people good or bad and think everyone in that group is the sam e. Judith Ortiz Cofer s essay The Myth of the Latin Woman by speaks to me because I have had similar experiences and I felt her pain. â€Å"As a Puerto RicanRead MoreThe Myth Of The Latin Woman889 Words   |  4 Pages This concept is supported in the essays The Myth Of a Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria by Judith Ortiz Cofer and The Ugly Tourist by Jamaica Kincaid. Both of these authors faced persecution because of their outward appearance. Cofer accounts being misjudged because of her Puerto Rican race. Kincaid shares with her readers the concept of human misinterpretation because of the stereotype of tourism. Of the essays, The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria is the more effectiveRead MoreThe Myth Of The Latin Women : I Just Met A Girl Named Maria1466 Words   |  6 Pagesessay The Myth of the Latin Women: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria by Judith Ortiz. The essay I did not believe it had to be in our syllabus because it really did not have to do much with the student learning outcome was The Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson. In the essay of Judith Ortiz The Myth of the Latin Women: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria was an essay I believe many students were able to relate, understand, and reflect with the arguments she pointed out. Judith Ortiz seemedRead MoreThe Myth Of The Latin Wom I Just Met A Girl Named Maria868 Words   |  4 PagesStereotypes are dangerous weapons in our society. â€Å"The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria† is a short essay in which the award winning poet and professor of English, Judith Ortiz Cofer, wishes to inform and persuade the audience that labels and stereotypes can be humiliating and hurtful. The author targets the general public, anyone that doesn’t understand that putting someone in a box because of a stereotype is wrong. Cofer starts out the essay by telling the reader a story withRead Moremyth of Latin women757 Words   |  4 PagesSummary and Response to â€Å"The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria† In â€Å"The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria,† Judith Ortiz Cofer illustrates several hardships she suffered due to the universal, misleading stereotypes propagated by the media. Cofer demonstrates various stereotypes that Latin women are subjected to, such as an experience in which she was regarded as a waitress at a California restaurant, and â€Å"the Hispanic woman as the ‘Hot Tamale’ or sexualRead MoreOvercoming Racism Essay1244 Words   |  5 Pagesracism in America. Having more class than your opponent and keeping ones dignity is still possible when pursuing equality, though it may not always be easy. Judith Ortiz Cofer tells in her essay, â€Å"The Myth of the Latin Woman†, what it is like growing up a Puerto Rican woman in white America, also that one does not need violence or cruelty to overcome racism and stereotypes or to gain equality. Americas tend to be closed mindedRead MoreComparison of Two Personal Narratives1264 Words   |  6 Pages(Roberts, 2010). Literary works tend to cover all aspects of living in a society and the theme of racism, social segregation and class systems is often written on. For this assignment I have chosen to compare two personal narratives; The Myth of the Latin Women by Judith Cofer and Outcasts in Salt Lake City by James Weldon Johnson. Both essays cover the struggle of ethnic minorities and individuals who are at the lower end of the social spectrum, as they struggle to integrate themselves into the mainstreamRead MorePerceptions Paper885 Words   |  4 Pagesof life that are instilled in people throughout childhood and beyond are what distinguishes and molds that person s views on the world. Take, for example, Judith Ortiz- Cofer s essay about a Puerto Rican girl raised to grasp her femininity. The essay is written through Ortiz-Cofer s first hand perspective. The woman is b rought up in a Latin culture and goes through different situations through childhood which lead her to expectations of how the world will perceive her. In the story she goes onRead MoreCompare and Contrast Essay732 Words   |  3 PagesBrent Staples of â€Å"Just Walk On By†, Judith Ortiz Cofer of â€Å"The Myth of the Latin Woman†, and Alice Walker of â€Å"Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self† had discovered their personal/cultural knowledge and identity through their experiences. They might have different experiences in different situation or incident it has the same concept. Brent Staples and Judith Cofer had similarly uncovered how they are being alienated especially in their foreign place. They both had experienced to be mistakenRead MoreWhen We Judge Another We Define Our Self955 Words   |  4 Pagessee what is inside instead of overlooking it, you might find it interesting after all. This quote by my family member can easily be tied to â€Å" The Myth of the Latin Women: I just met a Girl Named Maria† by Judith Ortiz Cofer, and â€Å"Just walk on By: Black Men and Public Spaces† by Brent Staples. Cofer, talks about how she was stereotyped for being a Latin woman in American culture. Then Staples, talks about how he was discriminated for being a tall, black man that worked as a journalist in a predominantly