Body Image

  • Green- Male words
  • Orange- Women words
  • light blue- non-binary words
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    • “Until the pandemic happened, that is when my exercise progress started to fade away and I was back to my skinny self. At first I was upset because my hard work went to waste, but I also realized that I should be happy for my size and I still maintain that figure that I’m happy to have.” -L.R.R

    I always thought that I was healthy because I was an athlete. Until I got into high school, which was all hispanic, I was skinny shamed that my peers called me jack skeleton, and assumed that I was white because there’s no such thing as a skinny Latina. They always tell me to eat even though I’m used to eating clean healthy food because it’s my lifestyle. I was upset that I didn't have the typical latina figure, which is a big waist and busty chest and butt. When I got to college, I dedicated myself to gain a bit more weight.
    “I’m proud of my body and have learned that it’s capable of being strong. I love that I can bang out pushups or pullups and defy the stereotype that women can’t do what men can physically do. I embrace [my body’s] strength and it’s abilities as opposed to wondering if I’m thin enough. Sure, I still have my days where I find myself nitpicking about a flaw, but I’ve learned not to dwell on it.” -G.C

    “Growing up as a Latina was hard because I wasn’t curvy and I didn’t look remotely close to J.Lo or Jessica Alba. I didn’t fit that certain look that we are stereotyped for. I find that the media still continues to push this idea that all Latinas are voluptuous and supposed to be sexy.”
    “I always have a crush on this girl, who is out of my league, who only likes fit guys. I’m not fit because I’m not the athletic guy you know. It's hard to stay in the healthy lifestyle because the Mexican food that my mom makes is too good, but I know that might be the reason why I can’t go on a diet.” -L.C

    After controlling for age and socioeconomic status, one study found that Latinos were less likely to engage in any exercise activity and were more likely to have a high body mass index (BMI) compared with non-Latino Whites.
    “It took me so long to see my self worth. I may not look like those beautiful models you see on magazines, TV, or social media. I know that I am more than my looks, which those qualities aren't something you can see from the outside.” -I.T

    The difficulty of the fact that so many people who identify as women have been taught to believe that their value is in their appearance.
    “I went to do an audition for a Latin soap opera and they told me I had a special look. ‘Special look’ means you’re Black. I had somebody tell me, ‘honestly because you’re so cool, I’m gonna tell you the truth. If we have any roles like a prostitute or a gangster or maybe if we do a slave soap opera we’ll definitely have you in mind.’” -M.E

    A majority (62%) of Hispanic adults say having a darker skin color hurts Hispanics’ ability to get ahead in the United States today at least a little. A similar share (59%) say having a lighter skin color helps Hispanics get ahead.
    “I always felt unattractive because I was the flat chest in my class. I made a choice to get plastic surgery to enlarge her breasts. I thought I made the best decision because I got all eyes on me and people (mostly guys) see me attractive. Later in life I realized I had made a mistake when I got the creeps' attention. Even though I made the decision to have the plastic surgery, she helped other girls to stay natural beauty.” -E.R

    The beauty culture in Latin America focuses on having a specific blend of Hispanic and European features including lightly tanned skin, long styled hair, an hourglass figure, large light eyes and plump lips. Hispanics were the second largest demographic to receive plastic surgery accounting for 10% of all plastic surgeries.
    “There isn't one type of Latina body. There isn't one type of beauty. I think we need to learn that Latinas come in all different shapes, sizes, heights.” -F.A

    The majority of Latina women have medium-to-dark skin tones, are short, curvy, and express themselves in many more ways than the oversexualized image of what they “should” look like, according to both Latin and American media.
    “I remember I was driving around my block stopped by the police. I respectfully stopped and waited for them to come to me. I was worried why they stopped me if I was driving at a decent speed. The cop asked me to show me my ID and driver's license and I asked what for, but they never answered me. Luckily, my girlfriend, who is light skinned, was on my side and told the officer that it was very rude to ask without a reason.” -A.R

    Hispanics in the U.S. may face discrimination because they are Hispanic (a form of racism), but the degree of discrimination may vary based on skin color, with those of darker shades experiencing more incidents (a form of colorism).
    “My height is exactly 5’4 and I’m the shortest guy within my group of friends. Especially since most of my friends are white, they're over 5’8. It was hard for me to accept my height because most women want to date a man who is 6 feet or taller.” -S.S

    The survey, limited to people over 18 years of age, found that the median height was 165 cm (5’4″) for Mexican males. On average, Mexicans are shorter than their counterparts in the USA.
    “I remember when I was 5 years old that my mom took me and my twin brother to the park. We were stopped by this mid age woman, who was mostly paying attention to my twin brother. She was telling him how handsome he was and she ignored me. The fact that we’re twins but with different skin colors threw me off” -J.J.C

    41% of Hispanics with darker skin say they personally experienced discrimination or were treated unfairly by someone who is Hispanic, while 25% of those who have a lighter skin color say they too experienced discrimination by someone who is Hispanic.
    “I was a very light skin girl when I visited my grandparents in Mexico. I don’t get along with my cousins because they told me that I was never Mexican because I’m light skinned. As I’m in America, my friends know I’m Mexican and see me as a full Mexican.” B.Z

    sometimes talk with family and friends about discrimination based on race or skin color, a share that falls to 46% among Hispanics with lighter skin.