Wise Latinas
August 13, 2009
by Monica Jean Alaniz
|Many words have been used by the media to describe Latinas. Among other things, I have heard us called “saucy,” “hot,” and “spicy.” It’s enough to make one feel like a burrito.
There is a stereotypical way that the Latina woman is portrayed in the mass media and most of these portrayals have to do with looks rather than our abilities and knowledge, which is why it is exciting to see Latinas claiming a phrase used by Justice Sonia Sotomayor that portrays us in a positive light.
“…Wise Latina…”
When else have Latinas been described as “wise” in the mass media? 
Yes, I know about all the negative press that Justice Sotomayor received due to the context in which she used this description. She said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
We just have to look at what part of that quote different factions have latched onto. Many called her a racist and some politicians tried to use this quote against her at her confirmation hearing or used it as an excuse to vote against her confirmation all together. As this New York Times article shows, Latina women latched onto the word wise.
To many of us it was the first time someone on a national or international stage had taken the chance to boldly recognize that we have knowledge born out of our experiences as women and as Latinas. It is exciting to see that Latina women are being empowered by something that politicians tried to make Justice Sotomayor ashamed of.
Latina women are wise and it’s about time that we receive recognition for it! All I have to say is…where’s my t-shirt and where can I sign on to the “wise Latina” bandwagon?
On Saturday, when Justice Sotomayor was sworn in, my mother and I put off running our usual weekend errands to watch the ceremony live on television. Both of us got choked up as we watched her become the first Latina and only the third woman to become part of our nation’s highest court. I look the lives that my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother led, the stories they told, and the wisdom that they have imparted upon me and, while I have always been appreciative of this, the pride and wisdom that they have/had has never been recognized outside of our community. As she handled herself gracefully through the confirmation hearings and took her oath Justice Sotomayor, this “wise Latina,” was showing how far Latinas have come and how much farther we can go.
Latinas are wise and we are more than the demeaning adjectives that have been used to describe us.
Sotomayer will, at worst, not detract from the court one bit. She has a flawless education and a perfect career. I think, with regards to her infamous remark, that we should take a moment that it is the life experience of wise individuals, not groups, that contribute to our collective understanding and help maintain cultural progress. Wise men, wise women, as well as wise blacks, whites, and latinos all contribute heavily, and I hope that by taking the experiences of all these groups into account better decisions can be reached that would have by individuals who could not remove themselves from their own cultural bubble.
Andrew, I know that when the supreme court and the government was all white men, it was certainly just a bastion of wisdom, wasn’t it?
If you expect men to prostate themselves at the feet of women and give them a clear path to all the positions of power in industry and government then you are sorely mistaken.
Ha! That is exactly what we don’t expect. We expect men to put tremendous time, effort and resources into placing obstacles in the path of women, pushing and holding women down – as they have always done. Which is why telling women to be fair and expect the same of men as of women is stupid, stupid, stupid. BTW, I mean “stupid” literally, not as an “ad hominen” attack.
Andrew,
Given the same ratio of wisdom amongst these two groups, women and men, we obviously cannot have our most wise people at the top unless each group is represented proportionally.
John,
Im sorry but I have to respectfully disagree. I beleive that values such a proportional representation of gender must be subsumed for higher values such as prosperity and leadership of the nation. I do not believe our current congress and president are flawless leaders. They are not, many are career politicians that understand how to take as much as they can while giving the least amount back. This, however, applies to men and women in government. The point is that if someone has the courage to change this I would support them, and I would hate not to be able to because there were “already enough men/women” in congress. The other problem with your analysis is that it focuses to much on the reproductive organs and not the character. I really can’t beleive that is the system we want.
Aside from that, I want to make something clear. I am a huge fan of feminists doing whatever they think it takes to get the results they want. I think thats how the world works and to think otherwise is foolish. However, justifying it with the language of equality when in fact what I see is a “war” on men, is neither honest, helpful, courageous, or admirable. Whether or not this is justifed by the “war” on women by men is not the point, it may very well be.
I am not a “troll” and do not crave attention, so if anyone would like to talk more about this off of the board I can be contacted at andrewalire@gmail.com
Andrew,
It seems to me that where we disagree is your apparent assumption or belief that proportional representation would necessarily result in a sacrifice of “higher values”. I happen to believe that proportional representation would result in an increase in “higher values”. The overreliance on men for leadership positions causes less competent men to rise to the top rather than more competent women, who are excluded or held back because of gender.
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