Jesica Alba: Still Struggling

4 Feb 2010

In many ways, I really feel for Jessica Alba. I mean–really feel for her. She’s said some fucked up shit about being Mexican (remember the “spreading their seed” comment?). But–I think at the root of a lot of her fucked up comments is an extreme insecurity and anxiety about being Latina and being Mexican that I understand completely.

I don’t know about other Latin@ cultures–but as a Chicana (or Mexican-American, Hispanic, etc), I’ve found living life as somebody with immigrant Mexican roots can be incredibly difficult. All the markers the Mexican community uses to “identify” you as “one of us” are so unstable. In a settled community, you can be tall and light skinned and even unable to speak Spanish and still be considered a part of the community. In a more transient community with more first generation Mexicans–speaking Spanish often stands as the “test.” If you can’t do it, you’ve assimilated and have no claims or rights to the community no matter what your experiences are.

So–in a way, I really get what Alba’s getting at when she says, “I’m considered Latina and, thus, I consider myself Latina as well. I grew up eating enchiladas… I identify with Mexicans. It’s in my blood whether or not I speak Spanish.”

Not exactly the most elegant thing to say in the world. As Feminist Texican notes: Head. Meet Desk.

But at the same time, I still feel for Alba. I mean, it took me going to university and doing tons of reading of Chicana feminist texts to be able to 1. comfortably claim a Chicana identity and 2. use the appropriate words to talk about how unstable and anxiety provoking a Chicana identity often is.

It doesn’t sound like Alba has been to college or that her family really spends a lot of time speaking about and negotiating a Mexican-American identity in a non-assimilationist way. We aren’t just born with the knowledge of how to “be” politicized and fierce Chicanas, right? And most of us don’t have to struggle through our politics–or the politics that play out on our bodies (what does your dark hair mean? Your olive skin tone? Your unaccented tongue? etc)–on a public stage.

I know Alba is political in other ways (namely, she’s an animal rights activist). Which makes me think that she is capable of “hearing” a more radical politic when she wants to. And I know how difficult it is to actually find Chicana theory–you have to know what a Chicana is first (again, something I didn’t know until university)–how do you google something you don’t even know? So I volunteer as the most appropriate macha to talk to Ms. Alba. I will pass her a book by Gloria Anzaldua. And then sit and talk with her for a while.

I’ll make a radical Chicana out of her yet.

Tags: Gloria Anzaldua, Jessica Alba, Latina identity

7 Responses to Jesica Alba: Still Struggling

J Chichimeca

February 5th, 2010 at 11:25 am

Actually, Alba has since stated that the quotes attributed to her are actually false. It’s a shame they received so much publicity. THey were on her wikipedia and imdb pages for the longest time:

“It really hurts my family when they read stuff like that. They really hate it. I always tell them I’m sorry, that it’s just the nature of what I do. People will say things that aren’t true and I can’t really do anything about it.” Mind you, this is a family that’s very proud of their heritage and extremely close (1,000 people attended the wedding of her parents!). Her Mexican American father’s parents, as well as many of her aunts and uncles, were all performers at Padua Hills in Claremont, California, the longest-running Mexican American theater in the United States. She even has a cousin, a professor at an Ivy League university, who wrote a book about the complex history of Mexican Americans in California.”

http://www.latina.com/entertainment/jessica-alba-controversy

GueraLola

February 6th, 2010 at 1:54 pm

My two cents. I grew up with two cultures so for me a strong identity for being Mexican/ American was being bilingual (read,write, speak both languages). It is and advantage and I’m glad my mother forced me to to learn it despite my temper tantrums. I never identified as a Chicana( for several reasons I wish not to list.) but as someone who as dual citizenship, strong ties with the culture and family . I have no qualms for identify my self as both. Since I was told by my parents I was both. A lot of people did not have that and it is harder for them

David Diego Rodriguez

February 6th, 2010 at 9:25 pm

It’s really hard to acknowledge your ethnic background in a country like ours that insists that you assimulate completely. I’m sure the problem is magnified even more for Jessica Alba because she is in the public eye and has to meet certain expectations of her adoring public if she wishes to continue getting roles. I’m not sure that I could handle all that pressure.

Maegan La Mala

February 7th, 2010 at 12:39 pm

I remember when Alba said the things she did or allegedly said them and I also remember coming down hard on her. The thing is, growing up confused about my own identity, I can see her saying those things. I know I said things like that and here’s the difference though, I said things like that when I was 11/12. No se, as for her having family members that are more active in their Latinidad, I think that’s great, I don’t think that automatically means she’s in touch with her Latinidad. It’s a process and people have different learning curves for a number of reasons.

la Macha

February 8th, 2010 at 11:29 am

yeah, I think it all comes with time, but you have to have access to an alternative way of thinking, to an alternative community. I mean, does she spend all of her time immersed in Latino theory with her relative and sitting in classes with others who are like her working through the same ideas? It doesn’t seem like, although *clearly* I’m not her handler. So I don’t know.

I know that especially into my 20′s (when partnering up/hooking up became really relavent to my world), I was making those same comments about Latinas popping babies out. Because I was trying to make the space for me to say 1. I was not a hot tamale in bed and 2. I was not interested in having lots of children. and I knew that just showing up to a relationship with my name and my skin, i was being judged automatically.

Like I said, it took me going to college and being around other people struggling with their identity before I got the words and the pushback to see what I was doing when I made jokes about Latinas popping out babies. that i was harming other latinas, even as I was protecting myself.
That’s something I don’t think Alba has figured out yet–that connection–as she protects herself (from whatever she’s protecting herself from, assuming she is protecting) she is hurting others who are struggling, just like she is.

noemi

February 10th, 2010 at 10:36 am

you think she would read some zines if I mailed them to her? (cheaper than an anzaldua book! )

VivirLatino

Jesica Alba: Still Struggling

7 Responses to Jesica Alba: Still Struggling

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