Every now and then, every one of us is guilty with undeservedly lumping groups of people all together under one giant overstretched generalization. Despite that, stereotypes exist because of one reason and one reason only: people believe them.
What’s worse is when a figure of superiority (or stardom in this case) relinquishes the leadership card that she was dealt, then utters a messy tongue-in-cheek slur about a certain group of men and their lack of fidelity.
PHOTOS: Sofia Vergara Stands Out in Beverly Hills
In an attempt to respond to what was probably more of an ironic and oddly humorous remark than an angry declaration, I’d like to ask Sofia Vergara,
What the heck were you thinking?
The encompassment of why I’m bothered is rooted in this very excerpt from an interview Esquire magazine conducted with the Colombian actress:
PHOTOS: Sofia Covers InStyle Magazine!
What about cheating? My wife has told me that she feels there would be less chance of an American guy cheating on her than a Latin guy.
Yes, of course. Latin men have something inside them, a genetic disposition to be a little sneaky. A Latin woman has to watch for that. An American guy might think twice before going there. He’s thinking ahead, This could turn into a problem that’s just not worth it. The Latin guy might love the drama and thrill of it in the moment.
So the question alone initiates the discussion, implying that American men do a better job of staying faithful, whereas the response that Latino men are born with the inclination to cheat confirms there is reason to agree with said implication.
Vergara would have done a wiser task, and explained instead, that the Latino men she’s experienced have all failed in staying faithful. In a sharp contrast, she does three things, aside from the obvious categorizing:
One, she further propels the ongoing lack of faith we (women) have in men of color (and in this case, Latino men).
Enough of this, this lack of faith can drive anyone, man or woman, to think otherwise about themselves.
Two, she makes out the male to be this being totally incapable of operating as a fully-functional and responsible human being who shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions.
And three, she proposes the idea that Latino men are created with some kind of offset double helix that empowers them to step outside of their relationships, whenever they get that intuitive urge to do so.
Come on woman … get real. Just because you dealt with a few rotten eggs, doesn’t give you the right to spoil it for the rest of the bunch.
Not to mention (again), the hilarious irony of her quote. While Sofia throws mud on the Latino profile, critics and fans alike have expressed their disapproval of how she’s become this “Hollywood sensation for her embodiment of the loud, fiery, hyper-sexualized, thickly-accented, vaguely-dangerous Latina” — as Univision’s Miguel Tamayo so eloquently puts it — implying that all Latinas are generally like her.
My father is Dominican and I’ve never known a better exemplification that embodies what it means to stay monogamous year after year after year — after year.
