Acts Like a ... Looks Like a... Must be a...
             An essay written by Judith Ortiz Cofer titled "The Myth of the Latin Women: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria", triggered me to think about my own situation and the stereotypes I encounter. I relate to this piece not as a Latin woman or even as a Latin person, but as a person entrenched in a culture. The urban culture or as many refer to it, the "hip-hop" culture. In this piece the author explores the different stereotypes and cultural differences of women from Latin decent. In my case I see the stereotypes and cultural differences in the same sense. Clothing, language, music, etc. all play a part in how people stereotype one another, but stereotypes aren't one size fits all. Yes, stereotypes do come from some sort of realities, but not everyone fits the profile that has been established by these realities. Many times these stereotypes are as far from the truth as they can get. My concern is how individuals in society have the misconception that they can sum up a person's actions and intelligence strictly on their speech and appearance.
             In the essay Cofer writes "I appeared at an American friends party wearing a dress more suitable to a semi-formal than to a playroom birthday celebration. At Puerto Rican festivities, neither the music nor the colors we wore could be too loud" (777). In the eyes of others and herself she was dressed too flashy, which made her feel as an outsider. For me, working with what society views as people of high caliber, my colorfully flashy, baggy clothing make me stand out against the suits and ties. I often get the casual hi or hello as if I am not intelligent enough to have a conversation or similar interests. When I change my wardrobe to that of theirs, the response is the complete opposite. The hellos suddenly turn into an abundance of conversations, and intelligent ones at that.
             Another problem I often see...