Latinas are diverse, powerful, and fabulous. We are also totally misrepresented in popular culture, online, and in the news.
Last year, the United Nations used Google searches to create series of ads that reveal the widespread prevalence of sexism and discrimination against women. We recently ran a similar experiment, and you won't believe the sort of disturbing results we found.
Read more ¿Qué más?: 9 Questions all Latinas are tired of hearing | ¿Qué Más?
Check out what the World Wide Web thinks of Latinas … and let us know how disturbed you are after you see!
Image via Google
Google image search for "Latinas"
According to this Google image search, "Latinas" are perpetually semi-nude women who motivate with "their hotness."
Bing image search for "Latina Women"
Conduct an image search for "Latina women" on Bing, and you'll have to wade through a butt load of bikini-clad T&A before you see a single fully-clothed Latina.
Yahoo image search for "Latina women work"
And this is what Latinas do for work, according to a Yahoo search for the phrase "Latina women work."
Yahoo image search for "Latinas work"
Apparently, the internet thinks all Latinas are bikini models or lingerie-wearing maids. Sigh!
Yahoo image search for "Asian women work", "black women work", "white women work"
Run the same search for Asian women, black women, white women, or women in general, and this is what you get: fully-clothed women and culturally-specific resources.
Bing search for "Latina women"
Now let's have fun with words. Enter the phrase "Latina women" in the Bing search bar and you'll find out that we're for sale, specifically as mail order brides.
Yahoo search for "All Latinas are..."
Yahoo seems to have an even more interesting take on Latinas. According to Yahoo, all Latinas are Mormon mermaids who may or may not have contagious shingles–or something like that.
Yahoo search for "Do Latinas..."
Also, a Yahoo search for the phrase "Do Latinas" suggests that the World Wide Web is very curious about who Latinas want to do. Like, really, really curious.
Twitter search for "Latinas"
As distressing as these search results are, there are in fact plenty of positive and diverse representations of Latinas on the web. It just so happens that a majority of these images are curated by Latinas themselves, usually via social networking sites, Latina-centric mags, and blogs hosted by Latinas.
Here's a first-hand (Twitter) account of what Latinas do for work, who they like, and what really matters to them. #LatinasRepresent!
