Jessica Alba says she's not latino

[TB4000]

http://www.mediatakeout.com/7187/jessica_alba_dont_call_me_a_latina.html

And don't you forget it, apparantly. I guess that role of Sue Storm has gotten to her.

[Golden Monkey]

A lot of trashy, racist crap from the commentors in that link but at least one of them got it right:

#

ilovemykids4eva

I understand where she's coming from. White Americans whose heritages come from Europe don't call themselves European Americans. Are they all embracing their European culture?

My father is from South America and he had so many hardships when he came to this country that he didn't want his children to have the same fate. He married an American woman and had me. People look at me and can't tell what I am. My father never taught me Spanish either.

I don't believe that she's dissing the Latin community. She wasn't brought up as a Latina and she doesn't want to disrespect the Latin community by saying that she is Latina. She's not trying to be phony.

She said that her grandfather was Mexican. She didn't say that her whole family was Mexican. I don't understand why people are making such a big deal out of all of this.

Alba wasn't denying ancestry she was referencing culture. But some people are very threatened by that. I guess they feel rejected. :rolleyes:

[Sven]

Stuff here seems to come later. There was another part where she added "Don't Call Me Latina. (http://www.blogceleb.com/2007/06/15/she-has-serious-issues/#respond)" period. Two people already summed up what I would have to say on this.


Assimilation and exoticness has been good for her, yanno. In a way, she's right, who really thinks of her as a Latina actress? "Exotic" = yes, "near-white" = yes Latina=meh. The thing is that she doesn't have the braincells to put it together that she may be light, but she damn sure ain't white. And while she hasn't necessarily had to "pay" for her "not white" yet, it'll kick her in the ass.

You can't have it both ways, Jess.

You can't on the one hand distance yourself from and cut ties with your Mexican heritage, but on the other get away with making a statement like “Mexicans just spread all their seeds. And the women just pop them out” based on that heritage, when such a statement would clearly be racist stereotyping if it weren't coming from a Mexican or Mexican American. "You shouldn't call me Latin, but I'm Latin so I can get away with making this type of joke" doesn't really fly.

Also what wasn't added in is that you don't need to speak spanish to fluently, to be a latin@.

[j&j2]

Well, genetically, she is only half-"Latina" (or maybe, more accurately, Hispanic) and she could very well be 100% white (or at least mostly white) since her dad, while being from Mexico, could have been descended from white Spaniards.

[SunWuKong]

she's one of those celebrities like Shakira that i never thought was anything but white until i read otherwise. i've seen enough Latino people to know people like them don't look like your average Latino on the streets. and i live in a Latino neighborhood right now. doesn't make me an "expert" on how Latino people should look, so hey, maybe i'm just ignorant when i assume these people are white.

[BeTheReds]

Makes sense to me.

[yoMAMA]

she's got a good point.

[Sven]

Another picture:

http://i9.tinypic.com/67ijymo.jpg

[TB4000]

^She ain't white, that's for certain.

[grimfan]

I read somewhere that Jessica Alba never once felt like a Latina until she came to Hollywood.

[AngryABCGirl]

I read somewhere that Jessica Alba never once felt like a Latina until she came to Hollywood.

That makes a lot of sense. Whether or not she's culturally and/or political Latina, people aren't going to look at her and say she isn't or respect her statements. That's just the hard reality of race relations in America.

[Sven]

That makes a lot of sense. Whether or not she's culturally and/or political Latina, people aren't going to look at her and say she isn't or respect her statements. That's just the hard reality of race relations in America.

Uhh no. People’s beliefs do not exist in a vacuum. And someone saying things like this?

“[Before] I always felt like such an outcast and now I feel like people are more diverse ethnically. I was always self conscience of my puffy lips and darker skin when I was a kid, because I felt like I didn’t fit in. And now its mainstream, and color isn’t as big of a deal and if anything its better.”

Sure does sound a lot like internalized racism. And for some reason I'm betting she isn't actually white as js suggested eailier either.

And how does that make any sense considering the roles she’s doing now? (A blond haired white woman?)

[AngryABCGirl]

Uhh no. People’s beliefs do not exist in a vacuum. And someone saying things like this?

“[Before] I always felt like such an outcast and now I feel like people are more diverse ethnically. I was always self conscience of my puffy lips and darker skin when I was a kid, because I felt like I didn’t fit in. And now its mainstream, and color isn’t as big of a deal and if anything its better.”

Sure does sound a lot like internalized racism. And for some reason I'm betting she isn't actually white as js suggested eailier either.

And how does that make any sense considering the roles she’s doing now? (A blond haired white woman?)

Sorry, I didn't read any of the articles before about what she thought about herself. She doesn't sound like she believes she's as white as she says she is either.

To paraphase what I meant to say, even if she doesn't want to consider herself a Latina like the topic title says, people aren't gonna consider her not Latina or White no matter what she claims. I think this argument really pours over to the whole idea of disclaiming yourself from your ethnicity or even claiming it- so much depends on eternal factors that then clock into your eternal thinking.

[yoMAMA]

she's not white, she's not latino.

she's not just one "box",

she's multi-racial, the face of the new american melting pot.

[Golden Monkey]

I think the racists who are so threatened by her comments need to step up and explain why they feel so upset.

She didn't deny her ethnic ancestry AT ALL.

She just said that culturally she's not a Latina like many of the people she has interacted with who are Latinas. I think she's probably more aware of her own life experiences than you are.

I'm sure most White Americans who would deny that they are "European". Not in some ancestral sense but in a cultural/political sense.

As for who is "White", how stupid do you have to be not to realize that some Latinos ARE WHITE in a racial sense.

Spain is a White European country. I don't think the indigenous people of Latin America conquered themselves and coincidentally acquired the Spanish language and Catholic religion at the same time it existed in Spain.

[Sven]

she's not white, she's not latino.

she's not just one "box",

she's multi-racial, the face of the new american melting pot.

But America is not a “melting pot” but more of a tossed salad, where other cultures basically get tossed aside. And the thing is what she is trying to do is basically claim that she’s white when she says “just American” because white is seen as the default to many of these things. And has been for a long time.

The same goes for colorblind rhetoric.

That’s the entire point of assimilation, assimilating into the dominate white culture.

Also did anyone read this?

"My grandfather was the only Mexican at his college, the only Hispanic person at work and the only one at the all-white country club. He tried to forget his Mexican roots, because he never wanted his kids to be made to feel different in America. He and my grandmother didn't speak Spanish to their children. Now, as a third-generation American, I feel as if I have finally cut loose."

How is that not synonymous with white?

[LaiSteve66]

She's half-White therefore she's not Latina. Just a bunch of ignorant Hispanics who think she's a purebred or a bunch of people exercising their purebred privilege to try to claim her as one of them because she's a celebrity.

[grimfan]

White, in America, is not so much a race as it is an absence of one. And everybody, especially actors who face the threat of being pigeon-holed as an ethnic performer, wants to be seen for who they are, not for who they are "supposed" to be because of a select few features such as skin colour. In America, being White means being raceless, and being free of the limitations and expectations that come with being identified as a minority.

And there's no racial solidarity known as White Europe either, for all you xenophobic Asians out there. In that small continent, you have pale and blond-haired Protestants in the Northwest, swarthy and curly-haired Catholics in the South, and distinctly Slavic Orthodoxes in the East. And there was once a time (maybe still) when those differences created seemingly unbridgeable chasms. Race is not science, it's a social phenomenon.

[Golden Monkey]

She's half-White therefore she's not Latina. Just a bunch of ignorant Hispanics who think she's a purebred or a bunch of people exercising their purebred privilege to try to claim her as one of them because she's a celebrity.

Basically true. But notice how threatened some people are. They don't seem to have a problem telling her to reject her White Dutch/French mother or reject the obvious fact that her native language is English and that her national origin is American.

The ignorance and fear is amazing.

Just because she said she isn't a Latina didn't mean she said she was White. So you Whitephobics :wink: can calm down.

Watch Univision and you'll see plenty of White people who are Latino/Hispanic and who don't deny it.

Ethnic ancestry and culture are not inextricably tied together, regardless of what racists think.

[Golden Monkey]

White, in America, is not so much a race as it is an absence of one. And everybody, especially actors who face the threat of being pigeon-holed as an ethnic performer, wants to be seen for who they are, not for who they are "supposed" to be because of a select few features such as skin colour. In America, being White means being raceless, and being free of the limitations and expectations that come with being identified as a minority.

You sound like somebody who got brain washed in Sociology class.

[deez nuts]

blacks and latinos are just up in arms cuz they have less of a chance at dating jessica alba now that she doesn't want to be referred to as latina.

[AngryABCGirl]

You sound like somebody who got brain washed in Sociology class.

He sounds like someone who actually got an education.

[AngryABCGirl]

Okay so I read the article so I can actually really participate in the discussion.

Saying she's not culturally Mexican makes sense to me, but she actually does have a really trademark experience of 3rd+ generation Chicanos living in the US when the border effectively crossed their families or went to the US generations ago. You'll meet a lot of people like her in California, Arizona, New Mexico, etc. with a similar story of grandparents not wanting to teach their children Spanish.

But saying this was just retarded and pissed people off: "I've got cousins galore. Mexicans just spread all their seeds. And the women just pop them out." I'd also like to see the whole article because it is a bit out of context. But that looks pretty bad and I can understand why people would not be happy about that.

I can understand her not wanting to be "claimed" by Latinos though. She is an American actress above all, maybe an American actress of Mexican ancestry- after all most Mexicans are mestizo anyway. Hispanic/Latino etc. are all pretty artificial and ambigious terms considering it mean anything from culture to race.

At some level everyone wants to be judged as an individual, especially actors in the industry. She actually didn't say she wasn't White and did make some commentary, albeit not a very deep or critical one about the pressure on minorities to fit in and assimilate into the White bread image of America. She definitely isn't an average White girl though. I can actually feel her to a certain extent because I get stuff about how "serve the nation" and "how I should be this and that" all the time in Taiwan because of I'm an overseas returnee, but not making huge and somewhat stupid statements about it in magazines in the context of a racialized society.

On another note though, I think Asian Americans would probably crucify someone who says something similar too (Kelly Hu anyone? she deserved it though, but has taken on some redeeming Asian indie roles.). I think we'd probably want to lynch Yul Kwon if he won survivor and said he didn't think of himself as Korean and just as American too, even though it can be argued he is pretty culturally American.

I think it's natural, maybe not good and is indicative of issues of power in society, for minorities and most non-White to claim "one of their" own who has made it big. Tiger Woods and Hines Ward for instance. It should be noted though Tiger Woods mentioned the same thing about being Black before and was criticized for it (http://blackvoices.aol.com/sports/special/_a/whos-afraid-of-a-large-black-man-chapter/20050405011809990001) , because he forced people to pay attention to his multi-racial heritage and considered himself more Asian. Shocker. He did receive criticism from the Black community for not going the NAACP route and speaking on behalf of the Black community.

Anyhoo, think the whole claiming people deserves some closer examination. In a perfect world people wouldn't be put in a place to "represent their people" but in a perfect world people wouldn't face discrimination based on the way they look tied into how they are supposed to belong to a group of people. Don't perfect the history of the one-drop rule in America.

People love Daniel Henney, Russel Wang, Timmy Chang, Hines Ward, Kristin Kruek, etc. But plenty of people wanted to hang director Eric Byler and actor Matt Westmore (who are both hapa) who directed and acted in the indie film Charlotte Sometimes because there was a scene of Westmore's character having sex with a full-blooded Asian woman with a full-blooded Asian man who was in love with her who could hear it. Nevermind he gets the girl in the end of the film or Eric Byler takes a career making Asian American films and has made statements considering himself more Chinese than White. That's just how the cookie crumbles.

[eos]

^hate to be nitpicky, but the full asian guy gets the full asian girl at the end.

[AngryABCGirl]

^hate to be nitpicky, but the full asian guy gets the full asian girl at the end.

Sorry, that's what I meant, garbled sentences. Trying to make that point about the movie that people don't really watch the movie and hate it. My grammar and writing really sucks these days. I think YW is the only thing keeping it from going to fobglish, but clearly it's not working.

[SunWuKong]

to be honest, if a mixed-race celebrity like Tiger Woods or Keanu Reeves say that they are not Asian, i doubt many in the Asian American community would be up in arms. despite the fact that Asian American award shows and magazines like to consistently include mixed-race Asians in our midst, the final word on the streets usually is based on lookism. does this mixed-race Asian celebrity "look" Asian? if so, then he's one of us. it's different from, say, Yul Kwon stating that he's not Korean or Asian.

but in a gist, i think Jessica Alba could probably have been a bit more gracious in talking about how she doesn't consider herself Latina.

[TB4000]

I think the "popping out kids" comments is what spurned it. Like she's part latin, but self hating or making stereotypical comments.

[LaiSteve66]

It's quite a stretch to call Keanu Reeves Asian when he's only 1/8 Asian. And it's hapa groups that typically try to "claim" him more so than Asians.

[Craig]

It's quite a stretch to call Keanu Reeves Asian when he's only 1/8 Asian. And it's hapa groups that typically try to "claim" him more so than Asians.It's Asians that are almost completely brainwashed by Hollywood & the media that are more likely to claim him. Hence, your Texas observations won't map very well to the experience / observations of the California Asians.

[LaiSteve66]

It's Asians that are almost completely brainwashed by Hollywood & the media that are more likely to claim him. Hence, your Texas observations won't map very well to the experience / observations of the California Asians.

What? You're telling me people are really that stupid? He doesn't even look or function as a "hapa" let alone Asian.

[Craig]

What? You're telling me people are really that stupid? He doesn't even look or function as a "hapa" let alone Asian.Yes, lots of people (Asian or otherwise) over there (California and elsewhere) are really that stupid. Coming from Texas you would be extremely shocked at the regular beliefs of most Californians.

[SunWuKong]

isn't Keanu really more of an ethnic Hawaiian than anything else?

[grimfan]

Latinos/Hispanics (whatever you want to call them) have become racialized in America because they present problems to the White Power Structure. Appearance-wise, most Latin Americans don't differ too greatly from Spaniards (who actually wouldn't be considered White in some circles). If you take a look at the Mexican national football team and swapped some players with the Spanish national football team, could anybody really tell who was from where? If you swapped Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek, would anybody notice? Or what about Benicio del Toro and Antonio Banderas? Oftentimes in America, people think being Spanish and Mexican are pretty much the same thing. Of course, you have extremes at the ends, such as native Meso-Americans and pale and blonde Spaniards, but the majority fall in the middle.

[LaiSteve66]

isn't Keanu really more of an ethnic Hawaiian than anything else?

To clarify, Keanu Reeves is around 7/8ths White. His mom is White and his dad is mixed. His paternal grandfather is White while his paternal grandmother is described as "Portuguese, Hawaiian, and Chinese". Not sure if that's half Portuguese, 1/4th Portuguese or what. In any case, he is still over 75% White.

[SunWuKong]

To clarify, Keanu Reeves is around 7/8ths White. His mom is White and his dad is mixed. His paternal grandfather is White while his paternal grandmother is described as "Portuguese, Hawaiian, and Chinese". Not sure if that's half Portuguese, 1/4th Portuguese or what. In any case, he is still over 75% White.

oh i thought he was ethnic Hawaiian.

[SunWuKong]

Latinos/Hispanics (whatever you want to call them) have become racialized in America because they present problems to the White Power Structure. Appearance-wise, most Latin Americans don't differ too greatly from Spaniards (who actually wouldn't be considered White in some circles). If you take a look at the Mexican national football team and swapped some players with the Spanish national football team, could anybody really tell who was from where? If you swapped Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek, would anybody notice? Or what about Benicio del Toro and Antonio Banderas? Oftentimes in America, people think being Spanish and Mexican are pretty much the same thing. Of course, you have extremes at the ends, such as native Meso-Americans and pale and blonde Spaniards, but the majority fall in the middle.

you can probably swap Catherine Zeta Jones and Salma Hayek and some people might not notice. and Catherine Zeta Jones is Welsh.

[VV o n g B a]

Race is not science, it's a social phenomenon.that doesn't fit what's currently known about gene distribution.

http://www.gnxp.com/blog/2007/01/race-current-consensus.php

[AsianFighter]

Good for her.

She mentioned not feeling accepted by any particular race whilst growing up, so why give in to latinos wanting to claim her now she's famous ?

[grimfan]

that doesn't fit what's currently known about gene distribution.

Obviously, there are genetic differences that account for the superficial differences amongst the peoples of the world. But, as the article says, race is like the idea of adolescence, in which the societal construct of culture has overshadowed the actual biological component. Take teenagers for example: they've existed ever since humankind was thrown out of some kind of holy world and cursed wit mortality. But there's a difference between the science of teenagerdom (sexual maturity, mental development, etc.) and the culture of teenagerdom (irresponsibility, excessive drinking, etc.). It's the same with race: there's a scientific part (the part that causes certain races to be more susceptible to certain illnesses) and a cultural part (the one that says that Blacks are dumb, Asians are weak, and Whites are the best). For example, it's a known fact that African students do very well in school, while African-American students do very poorly. Same with Zainichi Koreans, who do worse than their brethren worldwide.

So of course everybody acknowledges that there is some genetic explanation for the differences between someone who lives in a Southern Hemispherean desert and someone who lives in the Arctic tundra, but it's a whole 'nother ballgame when racists try and pigeon-hole all the peoples of the world as if they were the programmers for the next Starcraft game.

[Faithless]

I guess she went to the ALMA awards representin' the white race?

Hi guys. Before I give the nominations for Outstanding Motion Picture, I just wanted to say --

You Mexican mamas just need to stop plopping out so many babies.

Okay. Now then. The nominees ...

Boooooo. Hisssssss!

Wha? Fuck all ya'll then! And, and, don't even start up with this, I'm some sort of Latina role model. I'm here, cuz I'm gettin' paid!

[BigLew]

you can probably swap Catherine Zeta Jones and Salma Hayek and some people might not notice. and Catherine Zeta Jones is Welsh.

Sweet! So am I!

[Sven]

I guess she went to the ALMA awards representin' the white race?

LOL I know right?

Latina when it's convenient, white the rest of the time? If she didn't "feel she was latina" what was she doing there?

[j&j2]

I guess she went to the ALMA awards representin' the white race?

Well, one can have an ALMA awards entirely with white Hispanics.

[Faithless]

LOL I know right?

Latina when it's convenient, white the rest of the time? If she didn't "feel she was latina" what was she doing there?
For her agent.

[sageb1]

As I recall, the history of Spain and of Portugal has the Spanish Inquisition coming about to actually drive out the Moors (Berbers who'd gotten Islamicized) out of the Iberian peninsula.

So, there is a large populations of Hispanic from Spain and Portugal who are Latinos but have Moorish ancestry.

A probable example of this is Salma Hayek.

While the ancient Phoenicians, Greeks and Cartheginians make up the bulk of ancestry, it was the Moors who intermarried with daughters of conquered Spanish and Portuguese people (who had nobles from the Gothic (Germanic) aristocracy rule over them).

Thus, both Portuguese and Spanish people are actually not "white" as in "northern European", but are Mediterranean with ancestry shared with Southern Italy, northern Africa (Berbers), Greece, and the Middle East.

If there are white Hispanics with blue eyes and blonde hair, then their ancesters would be from Germany. Also Samartian Alans, an Iranian people, were tall and blonde and had allied with the Vandals.

Indeed, at one point in time, these blonde people were located near the Caucasus Mountains. hence the word, Caucasian. These people migrated west due to pressure place on them by the Huns and Mongols.

[sageb1]

In response to Alba, I'm not really Japanese.

I was born and raised in Canada, and have a tendency to learn Indo-European languages easily over Sinitic and Altaic languages.

However, genetically i am Japanese, third generation. OMG, I'm assimilated too!!!

[grimfan]

Thus, both Portuguese and Spanish people are actually not "white" as in "northern European", but are Mediterranean with ancestry shared with Southern Italy, northern Africa (Berbers), Greece, and the Middle East.

If there are white Hispanics with blue eyes and blonde hair, then their ancesters would be from Germany. Also Samartian Alans, an Iranian people, were tall and blonde and had allied with the Vandals.

True. The northern tip of Italy was part of the Austrian empire for a while, so there are probably some ethnic Germans who've assimilated into Italian culture, thus the occasional Nordic-looking Italian. I'm not a fan of pigeon-holing certain ethnicities into a singular appearance (like many people do with Asians), but it gets quite pathetic and annoying when some Italians insist that they are just as blonde and blue as Anglos or Swedes.

And I have no idea why they would want to look different, because the Iberian/North African mix is damn attractive. Look at Spaniards like Penelope Cruz (actress) or Raul Gonzalez (footballer), and they're some of the best-looking people in Europe.

[grimfan]

In response to Alba, I'm not really Japanese.

I was born and raised in Canada, and have a tendency to learn Indo-European languages easily over Sinitic and Altaic languages.

However, genetically i am Japanese, third generation. OMG, I'm assimilated too!!!

Um, no. Your situation is different from her's because for one thing, she's only half-Latino. Also, Latino is an ambiguous socially-contrived racial category that can include anybody from Spaniards to Mayans. There's more flexibility between Latino and White than there is between Asian and White.

[SunWuKong]

Um, no. Your situation is different from her's because for one thing, she's only half-Latino. Also, Latino is an ambiguous socially-contrived racial category that can include anybody from Spaniards to Mayans. There's more flexibility between Latino and White than there is between Asian and White.

maybe it doesn't matter that much, but i thought she's ethnically only a quarter Mexican?

and i don't know if "Latino" is really that ambiguous. the word is in reference to Latin America (which actually excludes countries in South America like Suriname, which speaks Dutch). maybe you are talking about "Hispanic"? that seems to include people from Spain as well.

[SunWuKong]

And I have no idea why they would want to look different, because the Iberian/North African mix is damn attractive. Look at Spaniards like Penelope Cruz (actress) or Raul Gonzalez (footballer), and they're some of the best-looking people in Europe.

i don't know. Penelope is not aging well these days. but the first time i saw her was in Todo sobre mi madre in 1999 and she was hot in that movie.

[grimfan]

maybe it doesn't matter that much, but i thought she's ethnically only a quarter Mexican?

If so, the pernicious one-drop rule in effect.