My ethnicity is not your fetish: The Oversexualization of Sofia Vergara in U.S Media

Living in Costa Rica caused me to not realize the stereotypes enforced on Latinx in other countries. After arriving in the United States, I was bombarded with the “sexy fetish” Americans had towards the Latinx. When I had conversations with people, they pointed our topics toward my ethnicity and constantly asked me to speak Spanish and tell them about my country. At first, I felt proud and enjoyed sharing my culture until comments like “Spanish sounds so hot” and “I have always wanted to date a Latinx” prompted me to protect myself from the objectification and backing up from continuing to express my cultural identity. As I began to immerse myself in American culture, the inaccurate representation of Latinx’s curvy bodies and sensual attributes made me question my position fitting into this “type” of woman. Magazines, tv shows, and newspapers play a role in the perception of ethnicities by influencing certain attributes of groups and portraying them in a way that the audience believes to be accurate. Latinx, especially Latina women, are constantly depicted as exotic and loud and are attributed for being the white man’s adventurous freedom from their complicated and boring life. This portrayal of a type of Latinx in the American mainstream media constructed a fetish of the “Spicy Latina” trope. Being a “Spicy Latina” means being dramatic and passionate, someone who easily gets riled up and excited. Actresses, models, and individuals began to feel pressured to fit into this typecast. Sofia Vergara, a Colombian actress, is an example of the mainstream influence of the sexy Latinx stereotype. Vergara began her career in the United States in smaller acting jobs that primarily capitalized on her looks. As she increased in popularity, she played Gloria Prichett, a Latinx trophy wife, in the television series Modern Family (ABC, 2009-2020). Her Colombian nationality, accented and broken English, and curvy figure imposed the Latinx typecast in mainstream television. Vergara’s character and public actress persona embodies the “Spicy Latina” trope through oversexualized marketing in the media industry, her comical performance in Modern Family, and enforced Latina stereotypes that inaccurately represent the diversity in the Latinx community.

The hypersexualization of Sofia Vergara in the television series Modern Family and media outlets can contribute to the fetishization of Latinx in the real world. The idea of Latinx being spicy is a sexual fantasy imposed by the concept of otherness. In media, this otherness is usually seen through attributes such as tan skin, brunette hair, and pouty lips. Women’s bodies are usually voluptuous and wearing revealing, tight clothing. A study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative of the 100 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2018 found that a mere three percent featured Latinx in lead or co-lead roles. Of the women in that group, 35.5 percent of those characters were found to be hypersexualized. In movies, interviews, and even while reporting the weather, Latinx have long been objectified and fetishized, reducing their worth to their sex appeal. During the When Celebs Fight – Spicy Latina vs. Feisty Brit interview, Gordon Ramsey constantly jokes alongside the host about Sofia Vergara’s attractive body. In one instance Ramsay jokingly touches Sofia’s leg and she responds by saying “No touching.” However, the crowd normalizes this behavior and takes the comment as a joke by laughing and accompanying the host and Ramsay to the objectification. In addition to this, Vergara is shown throughout Modern Family in tight dresses that display her breasts and wearing revealing clothing. In the episode “Hawaii”, Sofia Vergara is shown exiting the pool with an appealing black swimsuit while another character, Phil, stares at her body and comments that he feels she is moving in slow motion. This is an example of how Modern Family has utilized Vergara as a strategic move to sexualize her body and attract viewers to the show. Not only do they take advantage of her body by creating a character that constantly wears tight and revealing clothes, but they add upon sexualized comments like Phils to influence their audience to believe in the construct of Gloria as the sexy Latinx character in the show. This media influence on hypersexualization has placed Latinx in vulnerable positions that have real-world repercussions. Waleska Suero has documented this in the Chicano Law Review, finding that the fetishization of Latinx pushes the boundary from offensive remarks or behavior to sexual harassment in the workplace. She states that Latinx women have considered sexual harassment in their workplace a constant struggle, especially those who are immigrants and suffer from a power imbalance in society’s hierarchical structure. These women have stated that they do not confront the situation for fear of being deported and legally penalized (Suero 18). Characters like Gloria enforce the idea that Latinx are sexy to their audience, the same audience that then applies these same labels to other Latinx they encounter in their daily lives. As Suero stated in her article, the boundary between what is seen in media and what applies to the real world is vanishing and people are starting to believe that what is shown to them is reality. The media has intertwined Latinx gender identity with ethnicity and because of this intersection, they continuously receive sexual attention in the places they frequent. Therefore, the oversexualized idea of Latinx in popular culture influences how they are treated and the fetishization of their bodies and identities in the real world.

Even as the media has progressed toward more enlightened and diverse characters, the Latinx has remained a stock Hollywood figure source for laughter and comedy. Juliet Taylor mentions in her essay that during WWII America felt the need to protect its borders and create better relations with the countries in the south (Taylor 8). To create these bonds they produced Pro-America and Pro-Latinx American propaganda. However, the representations of Latinx were used for comedic relief rather than being representative of Latinx stories. According to Taylor, the clown trope was created by depicting Latinx women as funny due to their lack of English skills, over-dramatization of situations, and sex appeal. Sofia Vergara and her character Gloria Prichett, are targets of ridicule in the media and provide some comedic aspect to the series disguised as Pro-Latinx propaganda. In the 2017 Ellen Teaches Sofia Vergara an English Word of the Day video, Ellen DeGeneres makes fun of Sofia’s accent by playing a game that consists of repeating complicated words in English such as “flabbergasted” and “discombobulated”. These two words are hardly complicated to pronounce even for native speakers. This example demonstrated that DeGeneres wanted to put Vergara in the spotlight to make fun of her Spanish accent and even the actress responds to her game by saying: “That is not even a word you’re just doing it to ruin my reputation.” (The Ellen Show). This interaction in the media amplifies casual microaggressions towards the pronunciation of Latinx’s English language, diminishing individuals and using them as entertainment. Furthermore, in Modern Family’s episode “Halloween,” Gloria mistakenly confuses the word “cheeses” with “Jesus”: “I called your secretary and told her to order a box of baby cheeses”. The operator mistakenly heard her say “baby Jesus” and delivered a box with a variety of baby Jesus. This is an example of how the television series has established that the inadequate pronunciation of English words is something to make fun of. This was meant to be a comedic scene and both Jay, her white husband, and the episode’s additional laughter backing track adds to the effect of comedy influencing viewers to believe that the mispronunciation of Latinx foreigners is something to make a joke of. Taylor further explains in her essay that Latina women in the media were simply objects used for spectacle and self-parodies (Taylor 8). The point of this series is to incorporate a family that comes from different backgrounds. However, how they negatively portray Gloria Pritchett differentiates her from the rest and influences her character to be the foundational element of the series’ comedic strategy. Being a Colombian married to a rich white family, Gloria Prichett does not fit in the overall portrait, thus this influences how the audience regards Vergara. The relationship she has with her husband and the position she takes at her home enforce the stereotype of a Latinx trophy wife. Vergara’s performance is meant to be a joke and how the other family members refer to Gloria convinces the audience of such. As seen in the episodes of Modern Family and in various instances where Sofia Vergara has been criticized for her accent, the media has emphasized the stereotypes employed by the Latinx community and has taken the opportunity of the “other” character to entertain themselves.

According to Claire Snyder, in the third feminist movement, intersectional feminism rejects the idea that all women are equally grouped into society’s hierarchy and instead offers a new perspective where women have different experiences and are not all comparable in society based on class, race, and sexuality (Synder 6). While Latinx have historically been visible on screen, they have not been justly represented; they have largely taken on one-dimensional, stereotypical, and oftentimes degrading roles. As seen with the role Sofia Vergara portrays in the sitcom, the representation of Gloria as sensual, loud, and spicy perpetuates a general lack of respect towards Latinx. It reduces them to something to be objectified, consumed, and conquered. Furthermore, Maria Jimenez Moya states in a The Daily Free Press article that the exotification of Latinx is a reminder that women of color fail to meet Western standards of beauty that favor white characteristics such as light skin and eyes, straight hair, and thin figures. The media has utilized this otherness to influence society to internalize the dark-skinned and sexy images they wish to create upon these groups and objectify individuals based on their physical attributes. In an interview with Net-A-Porter, Vergara stated: “I’ve never understood why women get so offended by being objectified. I just don’t believe in all that drama, which is why I’ve made a whole joke out of it. I am secure enough not to take it all that seriously, and I like to laugh at myself” (Net-A-Porter). Because Vergara has constructed her identity upon the images created on media platforms she is diminishing the lack of representation and emotional experiences Latinx go through in trying to meet the ideal body. Vergara has been given a platform and strong audience, how she decides to communicate her comfort with the stereotypes and objectification attached to her provokes those who hear her story to normalize these actions and comments imposed on Latinx society. These stereotypes and body ideals ignore the many other shades of Latinx identity such as class, gender, and sexuality, and promote a toxic culture where all Latinx feel the need to look and feel like Vergara. Latinx people represent a wide variety of cultures and colors that can’t be reduced to the single story of Sofia Vergara.

Despite the effects of the Latinx stereotypes enforced by Sofia Vergara, the actress has expressed several times that she does not see the issue in being stereotyped as Latinx: “I mean, Gloria is an amazing character: a good woman with this hilarious accent, so why criticize her for being a stereotype? Plus, all the Latinas I know are loud, dress sexy, and are involved with their families: that’s Gloria!” (Net-A-Porter). To a certain extent Vergara is right, she was highly influenced by the behaviors and scenarios she grew up with. However, assigning the character of Gloria to all Latinx limits the diversity of Latinx and paints all Latinx as Glorias. By stating “all the Latinas I know are…,” she is attributing a homogenous set of characteristics that are not representative of the experiences of all Latinx people. Because Vergara belongs and grew up to a certain class of Latinx, how she portrays Latinidad is not representative of the population as a whole. These concepts generalize Latina women to certain attributes such as olive skin, black hair, and a Colombian accent. These stereotypes are not only limiting for the actors who play these roles and are typecast as such, but for real Latinx who are referred to as not being Latina enough. In my personal experience, I have been questioned about my ethnicity due to the color of my skin and body: “But if you are Latinx how come you are not dark-skinned…, and you know curvier? Why do you speak such good English?” Not all Latinx feel represented with the curvy Colombian characteristics Vergara embraces herself, and by alluding that the Latinx stereotype shouldn’t be criticized she is expecting all Latinx to feel represented in these labels. Furthermore, some may argue that “Latinx” works as an inclusive term that creates a sense of community. Through this social representation in the US, stereotypes offer Latinx a sense of belonging by sharing certain physical characteristics, values, and experiences, which makes it easy to believe that discrimination and racism are part of the past. However, this is a celebration of a term created by the Western culture; one that reserves the Latinx experience to only a certain group of people. To fit into this sense of belonging, Latinx first have to adjust their identity to fit the concept created by society. The issue with this is that not all Latinx feel a sense of belonging through Gloria Prichett, and insinuating that everyone finds a representation through her limits the empathy for other experiences and the diversity of intersectional identities.

When watching the tv or the news, we are presented with the media’s concept of otherness that we have been conditioned to follow. The influence of media representation has created a stereotype of Latina that affects the Latinx community and does not allow for a more inclusive and diverse society. Those who don’t belong to this ethnic group and have only been exposed to the media’s portrayal will create generalizations and expect the Latinx to meet these ideals. Due to the media’s emphasis on Latinx figures, Latinx women have become especially vulnerable to the internalized ideas about the need to dress in revealing clothing and focus on their appearance. This objectification influences the sexualized treatments they receive in their daily lives and the personal identity dilemmas within the Latinx community. As a Costa Rican and scholar in an American Institution, my reaction to witnessing the role of Vergara as a representation of the Latinx community is conflictive. I do not feel represented with the attributes generalized to my community, and I believe these stereotypes do not allow me to express and enrich my identity. I am more than just the color of my skin, the size of my breasts, and the explosive emotions I can display. If society does not stop the oversexualization and labeling of Latinx, there will be no space for identity and growth, no place to give new perspectives into the experiences lived as Latinx. Through deconstructing Vergara’s character, we can remove the misconception of the Latinx identity and encourage society to challenge the media ideals of Latinx bodies and attributes. If we stop and listen to the stories of those who have been unable to speak, we can acknowledge the limitations such groups have in society and seek ways in which we can improve their living conditions. Instead of thinking that every Latinx is loud, brown-skinned, and passionate, we should consider the qualities that make every individual unique. There can be white, uncoordinated dancers, and non-Spanish-speaking Latinx. Latinx are thankful that Vergara brought acknowledgment to the community in the U.S media, but it is time to move onward the oversexualization and offer a more diverse and inclusive representation. Adios Sofia Vergara!