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1 Introduction Mapping Latina/o Sexualities Research and Scholarship MARYSOL ASENCIO AND K ATIE ACOSTA When you think of Latina/o sexuality, what images pop into your head? Perhaps you think of Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Salma Hayek, Shakira, or Antonio Banderas. Or maybe you just envision large booties, swiveling hips, and sweltering heat? Or do you picture brutish “macho” men and passive women on welfare who cannot or do not want to control their fertility? Do you picture men and women having healthy sexual lives or ignorant, uncaring people who reproduce children and poverty? Or do images of dark-skinned sex workers working the corners of urban streets come to mind? Given these decontextualized and pathologized images, one cannot help but wonder what the relationship between Latinas and Latinos and sexuality may really be. Who are these people? How do they express their sexualities? Why do we hold such limited and narrow stereotypical views of them in relation to sexuality? Is there such a thing as a Latina/o sexuality that is distinct and separate from white nonLatina /o sexuality? For years, academics and activists have critiqued the oversimplification of Latina sexualities. They questioned the image of the Latina who is characterized as either the virgin who is passive, submissive, and altruistic or the whore who is promiscuous, sexually aggressive, and uncouth. Latinas have been racialized1 and exoticized in pop culture.2 As Patricia Hill Collins notes, these depictions produce images of women of color as sexually wild and uncivilized beings.3 Images of Latina icons like Jennifer Lopez that build upon existing views of the Latinas’ bodies have enabled the dominant society to fetishize us, reduce us to sexual objects, erase our particular racial/ethnic identities, and decontextualize our historical experiences. Scholars have also critiqued the conceptualization of Latino males’ sexualities .5 The image of the “Latin lover” who is more sexually sophisticated, has more sexual allure, and more seductive power than do other men is challenged, as is the image of the hypersexual, aggressive, brutish, “macho” Latino male. 2 MARYSOL ASENCIO AND KATIE ACOSTA These portrayals of hypersexuality mirror those of African American men. As Collins notes, these images reinforce racist ideologies.6 A contemporary example of such an oversimplification and stereotyping of Latino male sexualities is Ricky Martin, whose talent and vibrancy have aided in his gaining crossover appeal in the U.S. media industry. Despite his talent and versatility as an entertainer, the media have become preoccupied with his sexuality on and offstage. The media’s particular obsession with his sexual orientation stems from his position as the “sexy Latin” pop star to so many women and men in the dominant society. By not playing out the stereotype of the Latin lover and refusing to display or discuss his conquests of women, he fuels suspicions about his sexuality. This media focus on his sexuality has obscured many other important facets of his life, such as his charitable foundation to stop the traf- ficking of children and his open and vocal opposition to the Iraq War.7 Despite his complexity, Martin is most often reduced to “shake your bon bon” and “gay or not gay.” What becomes relevant for us as scholars, educators, policymakers, students , and activists in contextualizing contemporary popular media examples is how they affect others’ perceptions of our sexualities and our racial identities as Latinas and Latinos. Because we are underrepresented in mainstream media, existing images come to represent us as a whole. Thus, the diversity of Latinas and Latinos as sexual beings whose lives are shaped by race, class, nationality, and immigration—among many other factors—becomes invisible. Scholars question whether many of these constructs of Latina/o sexualities actually exist in the lived experiences of Latinas and Latinos, and if so, how and to what extent they are really manifested. There are more stereotypes about Latinas’ and Latinos’ sexualities than actual research on their lived experiences. Many times these stereotypes are presented with little empirical support and utilize a pathological lens in understanding Latinas and Latinos or their sexuality. Based on the available social and behavioral research on Latina/os, the essays in this volume begin to address these issues and pose the following questions : What is the status of research on the sexualities of Latinas and Latinos? What sexualities have we ignored and why? Who are we as sexual beings outside of our sexual behaviors and risk tendencies? What are the diversities among us as a...

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