race/ethnicity: Latinos

From the website of The Maid Brigade, a housecleaning service offering “green” cleaning services.

Who hires house cleaners (or as they put it, “who needs a maid?”)?

Who cleans houses?

When I went through the whole site I was able to find one picture of a white, non-Hispanic-appearing woman cleaning and one picture of a somewhat dark-skinned homeowner, but the overwhelming pattern is what you see here.

And no, there were no male maids. Do you really even have to ask?

Anyway, it’s an interesting example of class, the commodification of housework, and the ways that class and race separate women, such that upper-middle-class white women often free themselves from the second shift of housework by hiring other poorer, often non-white women to do it.

NEW! (Jan. ’10): Sara L. sent us another example:

According to research by the Pew Research Center, a majority agree with the statement that immigrants work harder than whites at low-wage jobs, but Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to think so.

Story here via C.N. Le.

Click here to watch a two-and-a-half minute video on CNN that addresses last year’s spate of race- and ethnicity-themed parties (see here). What is perhaps most amazing about it is the unbelievably impoverished analysis of what is happening and the fact that the video for some reason decides to end on an uplifting note (“their classmates had an important lesson on the danger of stereotyping”).

Thanks to Richard for this lead.

Women of color are stereotyped as more sexual than white women. 

This billboard draws on the stereotype that Latinas are always hot and spicy:

NEW: These three ads, sent in by Elizabeth A., are for Rio Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas (images found here).  The “card” representing passion just-so-happens to include a woman of color in a red dress with fire.