Latina Students Grapple With Perceived Stereotypes

A. Lizbeth F. Alatorre '99 turned down the vice-presidency of a major student cultural organization because she said it was not meeting the needs of its female constituents.

"I'm very concerned with gender issues," said Alatorre, who was elected vice-president of Raza in December but resigned shortly after because, she said, "my time was better spent as president of Latinas Unidas."

Raza is the campus Mexican-American group and Latinas Unidas an all-female society for Latinas. Latinas Unidas and Raza are not by definition competitive organizations, since they are designed to serve different functions for the campus Latina community, Alatorre said.

"The purpose is not to take women away from Raza, but to allow women to gain an experience dearer or closer to them, and then to go on to lead other organizations," she said.

Alatorre, a former Raza board member, noted that three of Raza's 12 board members are women. Although there are exceptions, she said that "Women are kept in lower positions as a general trend...It's a 'good old boys' system."

But Macarena M. Correa '00, a Raza board member, said there are more male board members because there are more male members of Raza in general. Correa said she if confident that male leaders represent the interests of Raza members--both male and female.

"I feel that part of the reason we are here [at Harvard] is because we rise above stereotypes," she added, noting in response to Alatorre's comments the board's male to female ratio "is not a reflection on what the members think of women."

Alatorre said Latinas Unidas offers Latina students "a power base within the Latina community," which many were denied at home.

"Many Latinas come from a very traditional society in which family is the most important factor," said Barbara Escobio '01, a board member of Latinas Unidas who is originally from Mexico. "There's a mentality of 'you stay in the house until you walk out the door with your husband'."

Escobio said groups like Latinas Unidas help Latina students make the transition to a more liberal American university environment.

"Being here, you've already jumped the first hurdle," she said. "Having a Latina community here is important because of the support."

Latinas also face sexual stereotypes, Alatorre and Escobio said, which affect their place in the community.

Last Thursday, Latinas Unidas sponsored a round-table discussion, "The Virgin versus the Bombshell: Latinos, Latinas and Sex," at which students addressed many of these stereotypes, including the "virgin-bombshell dichotomy." Alatorre described the dichotomy as the general perception in "all levels of society" that Latina women are either "inexperienced or oversexed."

Escobio noted that the round-table was "more key in Latino society in which machismo plays a big role," but Alatorre said she sees stereotypes concerning Latinas as more widespread.

"Non-Latinos have these stereotypes as do Latino men and Latina women. It's just as persuasive at Harvard as [it is] in the community at large," Alatorre said.