LATINX: MEDIA REPRESENTATION & PORTRAYALS

Abstract

Disadvantaged ethnic groups are often portrayed stereotypically in films; however, there has not been much research done into the portrayals of mass media on the Latinx community. Even less research has been done on how such portrayals affect members of this ethnic group. The following study is going to include extensive research into the media representation of the Latinx community and the portrayals that are created by the media on Latinx individuals. Additional analyses will explore the impact these portrayals have on Latinx individual's self-esteem and on certain stereotypes that have been created by mass media. The term's Latinx and Hispanics are often used interchangeably although, these two terms have different meanings. The term Latinx stands for a person of Latin American origin or descent (used as a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina). Hispanic on the other hand stands for a person whose ancestry or themselves, come from a country where they speak Spanish. For the purpose of this study, the two terms will be used, due to the extent of existing research that has been done which uses either of the two terms. The U.S. Census Bureau defines the ethnonym Hispanic or Latino to refer to "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race" and states that Hispanics or Latinos can be of any race, any ancestry, any ethnicity.

Keywords: Latinx, Hispanic, Media, Stereotype, Portrayals