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Sofia Vergara: Is She Taking The Latino Stereotype Too Far?

Posted: 03/19/2012 5:38 pm Updated: 03/19/2012 5:38 pm

Sofia Vergara Stereotype

Sofia Vergara has a made a career for herself playing the stereotypical loud and boisterous Gloria in the show “Modern Family.” And what can we say? The woman is effortlessly charming.

Unforgivable stereotypes sound endearing in that thick accent of hers (possibly her most memorable cliché). And the louder she yells, the harder we laugh.

But as alluring as she is, has the Colombian actress taken the Latina stereotype too far?

In the latest issue of Esquire Magazine which hits news stands this April, Vergara hits pretty much every cliché in the book--the nosey Latino family, the controlling and overly sexy Latina and the idea that maids are imperative in the Latinas life, to name a few.

On Latinas Being Sexy:

"Look, if you're sexy, if you like dressing sexy, you're not doing anything more than feeling beautiful," Vergara says in her interview. "A Latina just wants to walk into a place and feel great. Somebody is going to turn around and look. So a Latina better find a guy who understands that, even appreciates it, because it's a compliment."

It sounds like Gloria is not the only one who rejoices on stereotypes but also Vergara outside the TV screen.

“I don’t see anything bad about being stereotyped as a Latin woman,” Vergara previously said to The Daily Beast. “We are yellers, we’re pretty, we’re sexy, and we’re scandalous. I am not scared of the stereotypes."

Also in her Esquire Magazine interview, Vergara talked about maids being “central” to a South American household:

“Listen, I didn't know how to make coffee when I came to the United States. Because in Colombia the maids do it. A mother tells the maids what to cook. The mothers are like conductors of the household. But they're not really doing it."

"It's so different over there. You have the maid that cooks. The maid that irons the clothes. It's a hard adjustment. When I came to the United States and started working, my priority was not to buy a handbag but to spend my money on the maid and a nanny. Always.”

"I always tell my guy friends who are complaining that their Latina girlfriends want a maid: 'Listen, this is for your own good. You don't want a woman who is tired all day long, taking care of the kids, cooking, doing everything. She'll never be any fun. She'll never want to go out with you because she'll be exhausted. She'll never want to sleep with you. So this is an investment you're making for your love life. Think of it that way.'"

On Latinas wearing smaller bathing suits:

"When I moved to the United States, I used to have bathing suits brought up from Colombia.

There's nothing slutty about a dental-floss bikini. You don't even think about it. The first bathing suit your mother buys you is in the shape of a triangle."

Read the rest of Vergara’s interview in Esquire Magazine right here.

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Sofia Vergara On Modern Family:

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  • The Shoe Eater

  • "Like We're Peruvians!"

  • "Who Doesn't Like The Coconut?"

  • "I Don't Care For It"

  • Gloria's Mispronunciations

  • "I've Got This!"

  • Gloria Yelling

FOLLOW LATINO VOICES

Sofia Vergara has a made a career for herself playing the stereotypical loud and boisterous Gloria in the show “Modern Family.” And what can we say? The woman is effortlessly charming. Unforgi...
Sofia Vergara has a made a career for herself playing the stereotypical loud and boisterous Gloria in the show “Modern Family.” And what can we say? The woman is effortlessly charming. Unforgi...
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05:38 AM on 08/31/2012
Please. She should back off and stop talking like she know latinas and Latin America. She can talk for her family and maybe her friends, but America is so big and diverse. No one I grew up with ever had a maid, our mothers did it all, and they were great at doing what they did. I feel ashamed reading this article.
09:18 PM on 03/20/2013
actually I'm from the same city that she is from, and everyone here from the upper class has maids. EVERYONE. Neither my friends or I know how to cook or iron or do the dishes and that stuff. It's simply how it's done here. So don't talk like you know what she's talking about
12:01 AM on 08/24/2012
Money talks, you give anyone the chance to make money acting and they really don't mind what they do and how they impact their community. Personally I think that Ms. Vergara's character greatly diminishes the image of Latina's not only in Hollywood but in the US, she exploits the Carmen Miranda, Ricky Ricardo and Charo Hollywood stereotypes to the max. I know many Colombian women that have lived in the US for many years and they do not have such a thick accent and are most of all very conservative and classy, specially when they are as white as Ms. Vergara claims to be, a natural "blonde". Ms. Vergara is a cheap interpretation of Charo, just a caricature of what she claims to be her own people.
10:45 PM on 12/21/2012
You are not talented and mostly have no class,this woman is a SHAME to all Latin Women. I don't care if she’s on a awarded tv show and makes a lot of money. Someone who reinforces the awful stereotype of Latin women cannot be considered a role model or even someone to be proud of.!!!!
07:41 AM on 08/08/2012
Bah its just about money.... the real stereotype's fans are the yankees as usual. I'm from Colombia, from BogotĂ , we are not yellers or scandalous at all. In BogotĂĄ we live at 2600 meters above the sea, so we wear for the weather, here you can find a lot of rain and crazy weather, as in new york, and find a big city full of stressed ppl, always running for being on time, working a lot and making business. We are shy and sometimes cold and we dont trust ppl easily. I'm a latina too, and yep we are passionate but in latin america theres a lot of different weathers and landscapes and this builds the personality of the people. Yep I like to be a Colombian latina from BogotĂĄ, a "rola", cold, disdainful, suspicious and intellectual.
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MisteRational
10:37 PM on 04/19/2012
She is obviously brilliant at marketing herself. At least she HAS talent and style. That is something in itself these days when we get pop "icons" like the awful Kardashians or the whole idiotic "Jersey Shore". If she is happy with how she presents herself, and is obviously good at it from the coverage she is receiving, anyone who wants to try to take that away from her is likely just jealous.
09:14 PM on 03/25/2012
Yes, some stereotypes are just true!
Everything about I just read Sofia Vergara saying is true! In Colombia...
We are that way. (period!)
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chevyliddle
what's a micro-bayou?
06:21 AM on 03/22/2012
Gobs of money vs politically correct.....I'll take the gobs of money.
12:15 AM on 03/22/2012
Poota Rico!
g9
conservation ,Your grandchildrens future
11:56 PM on 03/20/2012
Bang....bang
07:33 PM on 03/20/2012
I don't care. She is hot!! I'm going to start watching this show from now on (and I'll get my drool bucket on the floor in front of my chair).
04:32 PM on 03/20/2012
She is a walking stereotype. No, most Colombians do NOT look or act like her. She was born into a wealthy Colombian family, so she talks very uppity like most wealthy South Americans. She talks about having maids and being a “natural blonde”....ALL THE TIME!! Shut up with that already. Most people in Colombia are not blonde, or rich or have maids....most are poor and look no different than a typical Mexican. She was also lucky to be born very good looking and she has a reputation in Latin America for dating only very wealthy billionaires. Why any Colombian would admire or look up to her is a mystery to me.
10:05 PM on 03/20/2012
You don't know what you are talking about and wow what jealousy!
11:31 PM on 03/21/2012
i've always given sofia the side-eye. now i know why.
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Frod43
12:58 PM on 03/20/2012
She's just playing a role.Lets get a grip, folks.. ...Like Charro did for so many years ...and made a good living at it too...
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Summer77
05:35 PM on 03/20/2012
Charro Cuchi Cuchi she plays a mean Spanish guitar, I love her!
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Tre Members
Inna world fulla hate, Love is revolution
12:36 PM on 03/20/2012
She's playing the hand she was dealt. The real question should be: Why doesn't American society accept nuance and cultural dynamism instead of expecting people to be charicatures and fit into little boxes?
12:01 PM on 03/20/2012
We Colombians (not Columbians) should never feel she's giving us bad rep. She's a character, a stereotype that it's funny and I fail to see how is it offensive. What kind of insult could come out of this stereotype? That we're loud? We are. Sofia is from the Caribbean region of Colombia, and we're loud and warm in here, unlike the meek and silent center of the country. And I don't see anything wrong with someone like her representing Colombians, could be regional bias? Shakira is also from the Caribbean region.

Boy if you only knew how Americans are stereotyped in here. You're all cowboys (hat and boots and all) with a terrible spanish (far worse than Sofia's character's english).

Stereotypes don't have to be negative all the time. Have some sense of humour.
09:18 PM on 03/25/2012
Thanks! All true BUT could you keep the tedious regionalism home? Can we at least internationally keep some sense of unity or do you forget where do all other regions go to become somebody? Yes! To the MEEK CENTRAL Colombians! There... We yell too!!!!
07:55 AM on 08/08/2012
the regionalism is not bad in this point, is just admiting that colombians are different in the different regions. Im from bogotĂ , and I love the coast, but yep here the people is more suspicious and shy. It is not bad, we have good artists here like Andrea Echeverri, shes not the role of latin woman, but shes an amazing and intelligent artist from BogotĂ . we are all different, but for sure we are so passionate in general and it has good and bad consequences.
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arecibo48
Clinton in 2016
11:17 AM on 03/20/2012
She also does commercials using the accent.
09:32 AM on 03/20/2012
I think this woman is sex incarnate. Seriously, I previously thought latinas couldn't get any sexier than Salma Hayek, but then Modern Family came on and I saw Sophia Vergara for the first time-unbelievable.