In the story "The Myth of the Latin Woman" Judith Ortiz Cofer discusses how she was treated by various people in numerous countries due to their conception of her as a Latin woman. Her strong theme discusses various stereotypes that Latin women are subjected to such as them being viewed as sex objects, the recipient of sexual harassment, and labeled as submissive workers. Stereotypes by definition are divisive, often by ill-informed individuals who believe and perpetuate stereotypes. In reality, the myths or behavior is attributable to a small minority of the targeted group.
Judith Ortiz Cofer believes Latin women are stereotyped as sex objects because of their dress. She states that she learned to dress from her mother, "as young girls, it was our mothers who influenced our decisions about clothes and colors. Mother who had grown up on a tropical island, where the natural environment was a riot of primary color, where showing your skin was one way to keep cool, but also to look sexy"(224-225). Judith Ortiz Cofer feels the manner in which Latin women dress is often misunderstood and certainly misinterpreted. Stereo-typically, American men view women wearing vivid color clothing and brilliant jewelry as signals of accessibility. These attributes has created a myth that characterizes Hispanic women as "hot tamales" or "sexual aggressive".
Judith Ortiz Cofer recalls stories she heard from family members as a child about sexual harassment that Puerto Rican women were forced to endured in the factories. This harassment was laced with sexual innuendo. She describes her own experience of being viewed stereotypically. She recalls when the boy who took her to her first formal dance kissed her without receiving a passionate response remarked "I thought you Latin girls were supposed to mature early"(225). Here we not only see a stereotypical view of the Latin woman, but also consederation of these women as something that is genetically different, able to ripen like a fruit or vegetable.
