Sofia Vergara’s Portrayal of Latinos in Modern Family

Actress Sofia Vergara has been nominated 22 awards, 5 in which she won as Modern Family’s Gloria Pritchett. How can this award winning actress’ boisterous personality, hard-working mentality and colorful performance turn countless heads to tune in, but just as many criticizing fingers with accusations of stereotyping Latinos? Gloria’s warm hearted character has caused many other Latinos to take offense to her portrayal of Latina women in today’s society. I on the other hand (being Latina myself) think the opposite. Sofia Vergara is not taking the Latino stereotype too far through Gloria’s character on Modern Family. Now I’m sure you are questioning what kind of stereotypes are being portrayed in such a way that is causing things to get muy caliente among the Latino people. Well apparently being a young, sexy, strong-willed Latina bombshell married to an older Caucasian male that is financially privileged is reinforcing the “started from the bottom, now we’re here” or in harsher words “gold digger” stereotype. Or maybe it was the constant yelling in a thick accent or nosey family members, overprotecting Manny that has gotten everybody worked up. If the relationship between Gloria and her husband is to be criticized, substitute any other minority woman, and it will still be at risk for the chopping block and a stereotypical criticism, although this is not the interracial couple seen on television. Interracial coupling is seen in many other shows for example, Olivia and Fitz on ABC’s Scandal, Bonnie and Damon in CW’s Vampire Diaries and Rose and Bernard in ABC’s Lost. What is the most interesting part about the ongoing complaints that Gloria’s character receives is it appears certain audiences are spending too much time on the negatives rather than the positive stereotypes that shine through Gloria. According to a recent study that was conducted on multicultural consumers and the media, “television viewers were asked to rate the amount of TV programming available reflecting their lifestyle, ethnicity, and culture. Acculturated Latinos who watch mainly English-language, mainstream media are much less likely to give TV “excellent” ratings than their less acculturated counterparts, who tend to be heavier viewers of Spanish-language TV (15% “excellent” ratings vs. 32%).” (Horwitz et al., 1) In other words, a majority of Latinos feel they are scarcely represented on television. Some of the racial puns and Latina representations that Gloria takes part in are not meant to be a generalization of Latina women but rather and empowerment of a woman in control. Vergara also states “Whoever said that all Latin women are the same? It’s impossible to caricature millions of women from 20 countries. There are many kinds of Latinas, just like there are many types and styles of women all over the world.” (Ordonez,1) In addition, Gloria’s loudness and controlling mannerisms should not be reduced to a stereotype but viewed as a minority female that is standing up for herself and refusing to be categorized with previous stereotypes that have been given to women in the past (i.e. quiet, poised, composed) at all times even in times of trouble. Gloria always has a method to her madness, for example in the episode “The Kiss” Gloria is cooking a meal for her departed family member and her husband is not understanding of this tradition and pokes fun at her. (S2,E2) Gloria is deeply hurt by the disrespect that has been shown to her family and their culture, this is a great example of how Vergara’s character has depth beyond a stereotype. Also, because of Gloria’s dramatic response, it illustrates how important family, culture and upbringing mean to her. To me an emphasis on family far surpasses any mispronunciation, low-cut, tight dress and any other ridiculous character flaw that some seem to find in Gloria. As for her nosy family, who doesn’t have that one family member that is always snooping around in someone’s business? But just in case that wasn’t quite up to par, Gloria’s tendency to be over protective of Manny has come off as being a stereotypical action of a Latina mother. In the episode “Old Wagon” Manny is very excited for a “date” but ends up cancelling the date and immediately moving on to the next girl he is fond of. Gloria is outraged by her son’s decision and states “You just tossed a woman aside then immediately move on to the next one?” Her motives behind her outrageous response to what can be called puppy love, only prove that she cares deeply for her son and does not want him headed down the road to heart break. (S2,E1) To say that being overprotective or overbearing towards her son Manny, is comparable to saying caressing a newborn is smothering the child. Because Gloria is constantly on the lookout for Manny’s well being, I don’t see calling that a Latino stereotype proper. Any mother regardless of the race always has their child’s want and needs in mind. Rather than calling it a stereotype, audiences should see the true motives behind Gloria’s actions and see the good in them instead of always seeing negative. Above all, it is crucial for audiences to remember that this is a comedy show, and the intentions are light-hearted. It is understandable that not everyone is always going to be happy with what is presented to them on screen. Along with the Latina spitfire, Modern Family does not only stereotype Latino people, but homosexuals, Asians, men and women as well. This being said, I feel it is unfair for shots to be fired at Vergara’s performance on Modern Family. Her performance is not over the top because Modern Family has this stereotype ties in flawlessly to her story and how her family functions, allowing her to be more relatable to the audience. Works Cited "Study Finds That More than Half of Acculturated Latinos Feel a Void in Representation in TV Programming: More to Be Revealed Tomorrow at NYC Multicultural Media Forum." Horowitz Associates. N.p., 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Steiner, Laura. "Sofia Vergara: Is She Taking The Latino Stereotype Too Far?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Ordonez, Carmen. "Sofia Vergara’s Role on Modern Family: Typical Latina Stereotype?"Babble RSS. Disney, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Staff, Latina. "5 Ways Sofia Vergara Portrays a Stereotype on 'Modern Family'" LATINA. N.p., 5 June 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.