Report: Hollywood Hypersexualizes Hispanics on the Big Screen

A new report suggests Hollywood can’t shake that “fiery Latina” stereotype.

The film industry’s diversity problems are well documented. People of color are under-represented in several key areas, from major screen roles to behind the scenes.

A report completed by experts at USC’s Annenberg School paints a bleak picture regarding Hispanic representation on the big screen, according to Indiewire.com. Not only do Hispanics get less film roles than other minority groups despite their rising numbers, they’re more likely to be sexualized on screen.

[Dr. Stacy L.] Smith and her colleagues Marc Choueiti and Dr. Katherine Pieper surveyed the 100 top-performing films of the past seven years (2007-2013) and found that the numbers of black and Asian characters are more or less commensurate with 2010 U.S. census data….

Hispanics are dramatically underrepresented and hypersexualized. In contrast to the representative numbers on black and Asian characters, only 4.9% of speaking characters in the years surveyed were Hispanic. Compare that to the 16.3% of the US population that is Hispanic — and the fact that Latino moviegoers buy 25% of all theater tickets — and the numbers are appalling. 

Even worse, Hispanic women on screen are the most likely (37%) to be partially or fully naked among all women. Black and Asian women were the least likely to be sexualized (23.5% and 18.2%). White women stood at 31.9%. Interestingly, Hispanic men were also the most likely to be sexualized among all the male racial groups.