Latinx stars speak out against stereotyped roles in Hollywood

National Hispanic Heritage Month ends on October 15, but the representational problems that the Latinx community faces last 365 days a year.

Orange Is the New Black actresses, Selenis Leyva and Jackie Cruz, spoke about their experiences as Latinx stars in Hollywood. While Orange Is the New Black has been touted for telling diverse stories and highlighting diverse identities, the actresses noted that as Latinas, they still play inmates on the show.

“I don’t have a problem with playing the maid, I don’t have a problem with playing a prostitute. I have a problem if that’s all you think I can play,” Selenis said in the video.

Often times minorities in Hollywood are only cast in roles that fulfill stereotypes. For Leyva, this means that she frequently plays the maid, housekeeper or prostitute. For Latino men, these roles are often the violent druglord or landscaper.

It is important for Latinx people and other minorities to be cast in a variety of roles because the reality is that people can fit into a variety of identities, and one group of people is not all the same. Representing these intersectional identities and a variety of experiences serves to make characters more multi-dimensional, instead of just flat.