Jacarandas

Dos chiquillas con mamis colombianas. Photo evidence that Latin@s come in all shapes & shades!

I can't tell you how annoying it is to read these stereotypical 'You know you are Latin@ when...' lists that I know are meant to be in good fun, initially, but also come from the same source as the generic advice we are given for our individual problems. The assumption that we cannot bring in vegetarian partners to our relationships because our family would not accept them, as though all Latin@s were eating carnitas every night. Actually, my friend pictured had been a pescatarian for quite some time & while I do eat poultry, my intake of it is very limited & I am mostly a pescatarian myself. I don't think that this is any more a target for criticism in our family than anything else (hair colour, dress style, tattoos, etc).

Then there is the issue of religion. We are both from Catholic families but I believe that both our fathers really couldn't care and our mothers have some superstitions but that does not mean that everything has transferred to us. After all, if all Latin@s were religious in the Christian sense, there would be no room for the queer population & guess what, we really do exist!

I get so tired of being told what it means to be Latin@, because I am fully aware of my heritage, but I do not need to be a walking minstrel show acting out every stereotype to celebrate my background.

In fact, right now I am enjoying a glass of wine, a tofu sandwich and an episode of Pretty Little Liars while squealing at the budding relationship between Emily & Maya.