Last Tuesday, I, a member of the Latin@ community, submitted information about Latin@ Affirmation Month’s Convocation Ceremony. The Wesleying blogger who posted the information added to the post stereotypical Spanish phrases (“ay Papí”, “y tu mamá también”, “toda tu familia”) and an image of a woman wearing pants that said “Latina” on her rear end. The tags for the post included “culo”. Several commenters expressed that they found the post offensive. The image was initially removed and later the Spanish phrases. An “apology” was then made by the blogger responsible for the post. However, this “apology” was not cognizant of the ramifications of stereotyping our communities and infringing upon our safe spaces.

However, many commenters felt that such an apology should suffice and that people should “get over” the issue, and that it wasn’t a big deal, since it had been intended as a joke.

Regardless of intentions, as a result of this representation of the Latin@ community, while one can assume the blogger’s intentions were to be comical and may have stemmed from an unawareness and ignorance of the fact that through such an act, they were mocking our community, and making us feel like we did not deserve to be treated with the same level of respect as other members of the Wesleyan community. The theme for this year’s Latin@ Affirmation month is “Unity and Resistance.” Therefore, we have chosen to express why we were offended and frustrated with the blog post and the reactions of the greater Wesleyan community to ensure that the viewpoints of our community will be listened to, that we educate people as to why these kinds of representations are problematic and threatening, and that we engage in dialogue regarding how we as a greater Wesleyan community can move forward. We hope that through reading this compilation of voices, we make clear that this is more than just a Latin@ community issue. This is an issue for anyone or any group that is concerned with ensuring that students feel safe at this institution! This Wespeak is organized by Ajùa Campos, Women of Color Collective, Ujamaa, WesDefs, Femnet, and Invisible Men. Thank you.

Glamildi Rondon is a member of the class of 2012.

When I saw the Latin@ Affirmation Month post on Wesleying, the first emotion I felt was shock. I was not hurt, or angry. I was just consumed with bewilderment as I stared at the computer screen incredulously, and kept asking myself  “is this really happening?” …And yes it was. Looking back on it, my shock stemmed from the rupturing of my unquestionable belief that I was part of a welcoming community that understood the kind of strife that women and minorities have had to overcome in this country and was sensitive about that history. Coming from New York where I am constantly harassed on the street by men who do not understand my value outside of what kinds of pleasure they think they can get from my body, Wesleyan has been my safe-haven. Since freshman year I have felt free and safe at Wesleyan: free to wear what I want without fear that I will be made uncomfortable or be objectified. This post breached my safe space and made Wesleyan feel a lot like those cold New York City streets I so eagerly left back home.

Jaynice Del Rosario is a member of the class of 2011.

My body is not a symbol of exoticness by which one can pleasure their fantasies. My body is my sanctuary. I am more than a body. I am a body with a mind. A mind with thoughts. Thoughts that drive me to say exactly what’s on my mind. One of those thoughts is firmly stating that I felt strongly disrespected by the Wesleying post. I demand respect for my body, not only off this campus, but also on it!

Esthefany Castillo is a member of the class 2014.

I have an ass and a culture…how about that?

In From Bananas to Buttocks; The Latina Body in Popular Film and Culture: by Myra Mendible, the first paragraph states, “…there is no such thing as ‘the Latina body.’ While the words evoke a set of predictable responses (“she” is hot-blooded, tempestuous, hypersexual, and in current manifestations has a big butt)…” The Wesleying post, which was supposed to be about the celebration of our culture, instead portrayed stereotypical images and phrases, and although it was not intended to be malicious, offended and enraged a visible community on this campus. I am speaking out in honor of my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who taught me that despite what U.S. media and popular culture has said about the Latina body, I am rich with the culture of my island and my ancestors.  I am a product of the struggles of Lolita Lebron and Pedro Albizu Campos, the rhythms of Tito Puento and Marc Anthony, the flavors of alcapurrias and mofongo, the sounds of the conga and coqui, the movements of salsa and bomba, and the blood of the Spanish, Tainos, and Africans. My culture is overflowing with all of these things that have nothing to do with my ass! Pick up a book, travel somewhere new, whatever you do, just STOP objectifying my body and stop telling me I shouldn’t care.

Bulaong Ramiz is a member of the class of 2011.

I am NOT sorry for feeling offended, disrespected, and appalled by this post. I will NOT sit down and be told that I am “oversensitive, overreacting, and should let it go.” The mere fact that some of my peers are suggesting this is ridiculous. Are we suggesting that we should let the hypersexualization of women’s bodies go? Are we saying that we should let the mockery of an identity group and its culture go? More than this just being offensive, what could make an individual think that this is funny? That it is funny to misrepresent and stereotype a group of people? It seems to me that if the original poster of this post cared enough about at least trying to say something FACTUAL in his portrayal of Latin@s, he could have looked up the importance of LAM Convocation and what it represents, with the same effort he devoted to taking the time out to look for a demeaning photograph and stereotypical phrases, like y tu mamá también, to place in this post.

As a member of this community, I deserve a safe space where I will NOT be exotified and hypersexualized for someone else’s humor. As a member of this community, I deserve respect and I will not take this LIGHTLY. I will not sit down and keep my thoughts to myself and simply state “this is problematic.” I am beyond that. This campus and community has become too complacent and accepting of the disrespect of others for more time than I am comfortable with. We are all members of this community and all deserve a safe place and a basic level of RESPECT. This post was about more than just the stereotyping of racialized female bodies. This post was an attack on people in this community, and that should be enough to get us as a greater Wesleyan community to care and to not simply want to put it behind us without addressing it.  By ignoring this and putting it behind us, we are condoning the further disrespect and violation of people’s safe spaces and bodies on this campus.

I am more than a piece of culo, a language, the title of a foreign film, a woman with the word “Latina” written across my ass, more than a member of a large family and certainly more than the stereotypes that were inflicted upon my Latina body by this post. And I will not be silenced, not so that others can be comfortable with an environment that is hostile and unwelcoming to others. I will not be silenced, so that people who are “not affected” by this can go about their merry day. We should all be affected when a member of our community is attacked. My personal rights and the rights of other individuals were infringed upon with the actions taken in this post, thus violating the Standards of Conduct of this institution. That is something that cannot be ignored.

In solidarity, standing and speaking,

Julissa Peña is a member of the class of 2012.

“Ay Papí!” The first thing I asked myself when I saw this post was, “what made this person think that this was okay?” Obviously, I assumed that he/she, being a Wesleyan student, would’ve known that it most definitely wasn’t appropriate. But maybe he thought that even though it wasn’t appropriate, it was still okay because it was funny. Who did he think was going to make laugh?  When I try to articulate how seeing this post made me feel I am speechless and all I can do is shake my head ashamed of this person who thought they were being funny. IT IS NOT FUNNY. IT IS NOT CUTE. I will go as far as to say that, as a Latina, this post made me feels dehumanized and exotified. As a woman, this post made me feels like a piece of meat. “Ay Papi!” Really??? Talk about ignorance, inconsideration and oppression.

Dorisol Inoa is a member of the class of 2013.

We see the Wesleying post as a larger campus climate issue, indicative of a lack of dialogue and understanding between groups of students with different identities. WesDefs works to create spaces on campus where these dialogues can occur, as we believe that this communication is essential to making Wesleyan a place where all people feel safe. In light of this event, we hope to foster open and productive conversations about diversity, and offer support and solidarity to students and groups affected by this post.

Love and Anti-Oppression, The WesDefs