Perovic 1

Sasa Perovic
Professor H. J. Manzari
Machismo and Other Latin Stereotypes
13 June 2015

Reader Response 2
I think that Frances Negron-Muntaner has made two distinct points in her provokatively
titled essay "Jennifer's butt". Her criticism of Hollywood industry expressed in both the attitudes
and games with words (celebritydo(o)m).
The first important assertation she makes revolves around the concept of "Latino".
According to this university professor, the term seems to be primarily used as American national
currency for economic and political deal making" (Negron-Munantaner 184). Thus the usage of
"Latino" as a cultural identity is regarded as secondary. What Negron-Muntaner does not
explicitly states is that when it comes to discussing identity of the people from Latin America,
the main agency of its initiation is purely economical, namely Hollywood promotion and
consumption of capitalist brands. In this case, the promotion of the movie Selena played by
Jennifer Lopez, who would allure more Latin American audience simply because of her
popularity, and as affirming herself as a "Latino", instead of proclaiming herself as an American
of Puerto-Rican descent.
This not so subtle attack on Jennifer's instrumental position in serving as a money making
tool is juxtaposed with a certain homage to Selena, and partly to Lopez's butt. Namely, what the
author acknowledges to be their positive contribution to primarily Puerto Rican cultural identity
is the establishing of Jennifer's rear as an "ample trope for cultural belonging" (Negron-Muntaner

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192). In this way, through a process of fetishization, certain benefits has been recognized in
connecting Americans of Latin origins with indigenous population of Latin America.

Works Cited
Negrn-Muntaner, Frances. Jennifer's Butt. Boricua Pop: Puerto Ricans and the
Latinization of American Culture. New York: New York University Press, 2004. (Print)