Okay, so I'm not actually dating a Mexican--for that matter I have never dated a Mexican (another story for another day) but here are some things that I've heard about dating a Mexican woman. "Oooh! Your dating a Mexican girl?! Mexican girls are
HOT!
Feisty!
Sexy!
Firey!
Good in bed!
Always having babies!
Moody!
Scary!
Passionate!
Crazy!
Ugly!
Gorgeous!
Fat!
Easy!
Good cooks!
Fun!
Jealous!
Less likely to use protection!
Emotional!
Irrational!
Curvy!
Gold diggers!
Great dancers!
Bitchy!
Beautiful!
Sweet!"
People who have actually dated Mexican woman may or may not agree with some of the things on the list but what irks me about this list aside from the fact that it's full of stereotypes is that most of the items on the list have negative connotations. They are not nice things to say about an entire group (be it female or male). Recently, one of my boyfriend's (he's Indian) friends said that Mexican girls are feisty and why doesn't he just have his mother find him a nice Indian girl.
At first, I was a bit annoyed by this statement but when I thought about it some more I realized that what bothered me was the use of a stereotype to justify a break up. But when you watch the way films or TV portray Mexican women, all you see are these stereotypes of women and that is when you begin to understand why people assume that Mexican woman are a certain way. And here's what really gets me: many Mexicans have bought into these stereotypes as well and act out these supposed traits. So here's my question, if a culture has accepted these stereotypes as truth, are you less Mexican because you don't fit into these stereotypes? This is not a rhetorical question but a serious one. At what point does a stereotype of a group become accepted as truth by that very group? And more importantly, how do you know when you're acting out a stereotype as opposed to just acting as the person that you are?
