“I’m Latino, But I’m Not…” is a BuzzFeed video that addresses stereotypes about Latinos and Latinas by showing a diverse range of American Latino/a young adults talking about Latino/a identity and stereotypes. The first part of the video shows the people finishing the statement, “I’m Latino/a, but I’m not…,” and the second part shows them answering the question, “In addition to being Latino, what are you?” In the final section of the video, they talk about what it was like growing up in a Latino household. For example, in the first segment, one woman says, “I’m Latina, but I’m not Mexican,” and another says, “I’m Latina, but I’m not spicy.” One man says, “I’m Latino, but I’m not a drug dealer,” and another says, “I’m Latino, but I’m not stealing your jobs.” In the second part of the video, they make statements such as, “I’m Latina and I have a masters degree,” “I’m Latina and I read comic books,” “I’m Latino and I’m a geek,” and “I’m Latino and I’m an American.” In the final section, they talk about growing up Latino/Latina, including the cultures, music, food, and rituals of their families, and Latino/Latina and American identity.
This video was published in 2015 on BuzzFeed, and is part of a series of videos addressing stereotypes and identity, such as in the “I’m Muslim, But I’m Not…” and the “I’m Asian, But I’m Not…” videos. BuzzFeed is an American internet-based news and entertainment company known for producing content that is popular culture/entertainment-oriented and easily sharable and engaged with through social media. While they also produce news articles, most BuzzFeed content is in quick to digest image and graphics-based forms such as lists, quizzes, and short videos.
discussion
What stereotypes about Latinos and Latinas are the people in the video responding to? Did anything they say surprise you? Did you learn anything new?
What is the relationship between national identity categories (such as being from Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, or the U.S.) and being Latino/Latina?
How are Latinos and Latinas portrayed in mainstream U.S. movies, television, the news, and other media? How does this affect the everyday lived experiences of Latinos and Latinas living in places like the U.S., where visibility and diverse representations are limited and often stereotypical?
What are the dangers of reducing people to one singular aspect of their identities? Do you think this video is successful at demonstrating that people have many identities and are multifaceted? Why or why not?
