GEN

A former publication from Medium about politics, power, and culture. Currently inactive and not…

Member-only story

I Found a Job That Honored My Latina Voice — and Was Instantly Tokenized

Jessica Hoppe
GEN
Published in
11 min readFeb 20, 2020

--

Latinx writers after meeting with publishing executives to protest the novel “American Dirt.” Photo: Laura Bonilla Cal/Getty Images

ByBy the summer of 2017, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” remix featuring Justin Bieber had become the top song in the country. While it was already a hit pre-Bieber, Justin’s auto-tuned Spanglish brought the song into the consciousness of many Americans, qualifying a predominantly Spanish-language song as “mainstream,” i.e. not only digestible but desirable to the wider American public. No small feat.

I was at a popular lounge in New York City when a DJ played the record. A woman sitting at the neighboring banquette, partying with her daughter and friends, reached for my arm, bending my ear to her lips. “I love watching you dance,” she spat, “Your people are so fun.”

Interest isn’t translating to opportunity for us, it’s just further commodifying our culture.

Growing up in a predominantly white town, I often confused fetishization for flattery. I wanted to fit in no matter the cost. As a grown woman living in New York City — one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world — still finding myself…

--

--

GEN
GEN

Published in GEN

A former publication from Medium about politics, power, and culture. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Jessica Hoppe
Jessica Hoppe

Written by Jessica Hoppe

New York based-writer and creator of @nuevayorka. Work featured in The New York Times, Paper, Vogue, and elsewhere.

Responses (5)