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Latino Spin: Public Image and the Whitewashing of Race
Winner of the 2010 Distinguished Book Award in Latino Studies from the Latin American Studies Association
Follows the Latino public image and its impact on U.S. national identity
Illegal immigrant, tax burden, job stealer. Patriot, family oriented, hard worker, model consumer. Ever since Latinos became the largest minority in the U.S. they have been caught between these wildly contrasting characterizations leaving us to Are Latinos friend or foe?
Latino Spin cuts through the spin about Latinos’ supposed values, political attitudes, and impact on U.S. national identity to ask what these caricatures suggest about Latinos’ shifting place in the popular and political imaginary. Noted scholar Arlene Dávila illustrates the growing consensus among pundits, advocates, and scholars that Latinos are not a social liability, that they are moving up and contributing, and that, in fact, they are more American than “the Americans.” But what is at stake in such a sanitized and marketable representation of Latinidad? Dávila follows the spin through the realm of politics, think tanks, Latino museums, and urban planning to uncover whether they effectively challenge the growing fear over Latinos’ supposedly dreadful effect on the “integrity” of U.S. national identity. What may be some of the intended or unintended consequences of these more marketable representations in regard to current debates over immigration?
With particular attention to what these representations reveal about the place and role of Latinos in the contemporary politics of race, Latino Spin highlights the realities they skew and the polarization they effect between Latinos and other minorities, and among Latinos themselves along the lines of citizenship and class. Finally, by considering Latinos in all their diversity, including their increasing financial and geographic disparities, Dávila can present alternative and more empowering representations of Latinidad to help attain true political equity and intraracial coalitions.
Follows the Latino public image and its impact on U.S. national identity
Illegal immigrant, tax burden, job stealer. Patriot, family oriented, hard worker, model consumer. Ever since Latinos became the largest minority in the U.S. they have been caught between these wildly contrasting characterizations leaving us to Are Latinos friend or foe?
Latino Spin cuts through the spin about Latinos’ supposed values, political attitudes, and impact on U.S. national identity to ask what these caricatures suggest about Latinos’ shifting place in the popular and political imaginary. Noted scholar Arlene Dávila illustrates the growing consensus among pundits, advocates, and scholars that Latinos are not a social liability, that they are moving up and contributing, and that, in fact, they are more American than “the Americans.” But what is at stake in such a sanitized and marketable representation of Latinidad? Dávila follows the spin through the realm of politics, think tanks, Latino museums, and urban planning to uncover whether they effectively challenge the growing fear over Latinos’ supposedly dreadful effect on the “integrity” of U.S. national identity. What may be some of the intended or unintended consequences of these more marketable representations in regard to current debates over immigration?
With particular attention to what these representations reveal about the place and role of Latinos in the contemporary politics of race, Latino Spin highlights the realities they skew and the polarization they effect between Latinos and other minorities, and among Latinos themselves along the lines of citizenship and class. Finally, by considering Latinos in all their diversity, including their increasing financial and geographic disparities, Dávila can present alternative and more empowering representations of Latinidad to help attain true political equity and intraracial coalitions.
- GenresSociology
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
1 person is currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 20, 2026
Hard to get through to be honest although there were many very good points made. Yeah this book is dated now as it's 18 years old, but still a good read and important things to consider in here.
I'll try and add a few of the most important areas that stood out to me overall.
"Indeed, whiteness is never static, both in terms of who is classified as white and how its content is defined, and it is this changing aspect that makes it so pervasive and enduring, irrespective of the demographic shifts underlying the United States' growing diversity.
At the same time, Latinos are not just any ethnic immigrant group in this country. Unlike most immigrant ethnic groups, however, Latinos share a history of occupation, invasion, and colonization by the United States...And consequently, the United States has never solely represented a space of refuge or opportunity for most Latinos." Pg. 7
"To think that those of us with citizenship are waived from the racial intolerance and chauvinism triggered by the immigration debate is to be fooled into believing that citizenship has, in fact, provided equal benefits and entitlements to all Americans irrespective of race, gender, class, or sexual orientation...By fetishizing citizenship as a guarantor of privileges, the immigration debate veils the civil liberties that are decreasingly denied to all." Pg. 10
"What these works shared was a critiquing of the caging of Hispanic identity around narrow conventions of authenticity espoused at the time. Both espoused the view that empowerment can only come through assimilation [We know that this definitely isn't true] and both censure Latinos' culture and the Spanish language as culprits for their ghettoization." Pg. 32
"Americanization, we have to remember, has never meant the equal incorporation of individuals into the national community, but rather their ordering and placement within it." Pg. 68
"But images of affluence cannot bring empowerment on their own, especially if they mask the realities of marginality, unemployment, and racism as they sanitize Latinos for public consumption.
In this context, the tropes of conservatives for spirituality, family values, and emotion can be studied for what they are: not so much valid descriptions of Latinos, but rather, a projection of dominant society's longing for docile, unthreatening consumers." Pp. 88-89
"One of the most intriguing aspects of gentrification is how communities' opposition to developments oftentimes tamed by the inclusion of cultural initiatives that allege to be representative of these very same communities." Pg. 99
"After all, the field of art production is still largely predicated on Western-centered precepts upholding art's intrinsic value and its separation from the cultural and social context in which it develops. Accordingly, what is defined as art is that which is given autonomous aesthetic value and is able to transcend the immediate for the universal." Pg. 122
"Seldom, however can they [museum staff] hide or fully address the continued dominance of artists of some Latin American countries over others, a dominance dictated by the political economy of the art establishment, by market forces, and even by international politics.
The promotion of Latin American art is also increasingly led by Latin American corporations, embassies, and ministries of culture, many of which are directly or indirectly tied to the national imagery of individual countries." Pp. 126-127
"Puerto Ricans' US citizenship, the Island's colonial status, and the long history of transnational flows between the States and the island function as permanent obstacles to the identification of US based-Puerto Rican artists within any single or stable identity category. This in turn affects their evaluation within the construct of 'Latin American art.' Additionally, few US-based Puerto Ricans can achieve complete acceptance or recognition on the island." Pg. 129
"Puerto Rican artists repeatedly complained that the island's ambiguous colonial status limited their ability to market themselves in a context where identity can be a marketable asset, but only for some artists--especially those with access to national collecting elites and a strong artistic infrastructure." Pg. 130
"We cannot call attention to the operations of institutional racism in the academy without also recognizing the arbitrary assessments that are deployed to weed out many talented scholars, oftentimes women, gays, older and working-class or politically active scholars." Pg. 149
"Assumptions of progressivism and political enlightenment which are often taken for granted in interdisciplinary spaces in ways that can so dangerously hinder our self-reflection and critique do not come so easily when one treads a disciplinary space." Pg. 158
"The result is that Latinos are courted ad nasueum by marketers seeking to capture billions of Latino dollars, while at the same time they are demonized in public discourse as an economic liability who take jobs, benefits, and resources from 'regular Americans'." Pg. 164
"Currently the immigration debate has fueled an uncritical nativism where 'citizenship' is reified as the guarantor of rights and entitlements and the ultimate mark of privelege and status, hiding the fact that citizenship has never conferred equal status and privileges to racial others." Pg. 170
"If we recognize the hurdles that hinder Latinos' rightful inclusion in the nation, because of who they are and what they are seen to represent, irrespective of their education, class, even citizenship status, we could perhaps all take less refuge in our "privileges" and and be more likely to establish meaningful alliances across class and citizenship statuses. This task requires that we suspend our uncritical celebration of Latinos' coming of age, and instead anchor our understanding of their past, present, and future in the ever-changing but pervasive politics of race." Pg. 172
I'll try and add a few of the most important areas that stood out to me overall.
"Indeed, whiteness is never static, both in terms of who is classified as white and how its content is defined, and it is this changing aspect that makes it so pervasive and enduring, irrespective of the demographic shifts underlying the United States' growing diversity.
At the same time, Latinos are not just any ethnic immigrant group in this country. Unlike most immigrant ethnic groups, however, Latinos share a history of occupation, invasion, and colonization by the United States...And consequently, the United States has never solely represented a space of refuge or opportunity for most Latinos." Pg. 7
"To think that those of us with citizenship are waived from the racial intolerance and chauvinism triggered by the immigration debate is to be fooled into believing that citizenship has, in fact, provided equal benefits and entitlements to all Americans irrespective of race, gender, class, or sexual orientation...By fetishizing citizenship as a guarantor of privileges, the immigration debate veils the civil liberties that are decreasingly denied to all." Pg. 10
"What these works shared was a critiquing of the caging of Hispanic identity around narrow conventions of authenticity espoused at the time. Both espoused the view that empowerment can only come through assimilation [We know that this definitely isn't true] and both censure Latinos' culture and the Spanish language as culprits for their ghettoization." Pg. 32
"Americanization, we have to remember, has never meant the equal incorporation of individuals into the national community, but rather their ordering and placement within it." Pg. 68
"But images of affluence cannot bring empowerment on their own, especially if they mask the realities of marginality, unemployment, and racism as they sanitize Latinos for public consumption.
In this context, the tropes of conservatives for spirituality, family values, and emotion can be studied for what they are: not so much valid descriptions of Latinos, but rather, a projection of dominant society's longing for docile, unthreatening consumers." Pp. 88-89
"One of the most intriguing aspects of gentrification is how communities' opposition to developments oftentimes tamed by the inclusion of cultural initiatives that allege to be representative of these very same communities." Pg. 99
"After all, the field of art production is still largely predicated on Western-centered precepts upholding art's intrinsic value and its separation from the cultural and social context in which it develops. Accordingly, what is defined as art is that which is given autonomous aesthetic value and is able to transcend the immediate for the universal." Pg. 122
"Seldom, however can they [museum staff] hide or fully address the continued dominance of artists of some Latin American countries over others, a dominance dictated by the political economy of the art establishment, by market forces, and even by international politics.
The promotion of Latin American art is also increasingly led by Latin American corporations, embassies, and ministries of culture, many of which are directly or indirectly tied to the national imagery of individual countries." Pp. 126-127
"Puerto Ricans' US citizenship, the Island's colonial status, and the long history of transnational flows between the States and the island function as permanent obstacles to the identification of US based-Puerto Rican artists within any single or stable identity category. This in turn affects their evaluation within the construct of 'Latin American art.' Additionally, few US-based Puerto Ricans can achieve complete acceptance or recognition on the island." Pg. 129
"Puerto Rican artists repeatedly complained that the island's ambiguous colonial status limited their ability to market themselves in a context where identity can be a marketable asset, but only for some artists--especially those with access to national collecting elites and a strong artistic infrastructure." Pg. 130
"We cannot call attention to the operations of institutional racism in the academy without also recognizing the arbitrary assessments that are deployed to weed out many talented scholars, oftentimes women, gays, older and working-class or politically active scholars." Pg. 149
"Assumptions of progressivism and political enlightenment which are often taken for granted in interdisciplinary spaces in ways that can so dangerously hinder our self-reflection and critique do not come so easily when one treads a disciplinary space." Pg. 158
"The result is that Latinos are courted ad nasueum by marketers seeking to capture billions of Latino dollars, while at the same time they are demonized in public discourse as an economic liability who take jobs, benefits, and resources from 'regular Americans'." Pg. 164
"Currently the immigration debate has fueled an uncritical nativism where 'citizenship' is reified as the guarantor of rights and entitlements and the ultimate mark of privelege and status, hiding the fact that citizenship has never conferred equal status and privileges to racial others." Pg. 170
"If we recognize the hurdles that hinder Latinos' rightful inclusion in the nation, because of who they are and what they are seen to represent, irrespective of their education, class, even citizenship status, we could perhaps all take less refuge in our "privileges" and and be more likely to establish meaningful alliances across class and citizenship statuses. This task requires that we suspend our uncritical celebration of Latinos' coming of age, and instead anchor our understanding of their past, present, and future in the ever-changing but pervasive politics of race." Pg. 172
June 27, 2020
A great book for anybody studying current Latino and immigration policies.
June 12, 2013
This is one of the most refreshing dissertation reads I've had so far. Arlene Davila skillfully combines ethnographic research on political policy and marketing firms to expose the "spin," or carefully selected information, about Latinos in the media. Davila juxtaposes two conflicting portayals of Latinos in the media, that of the upwardly mobile, "assimilated American," and the economy-wrecking illegal immigrant, to demonstrate how both depictions are used for political and market gains. Of course, this is done at the expense of the populations these major firms allege to help. However, Davila is careful to tease out the complexities of such "spin," showing the reader that there is no easy answer or solution to the problems it raises. Covering topics such as the presidential elections, television network ownership, gentrification, museum studies, and ethnic studies in the academy, Davila demonstrates that the continued debates over Latinos ultimately correlates with diminishing rights for all citizens.
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August 28, 2012Junot Diaz's "best latino book of 2008!"
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews