Introduction

Industries rise and fall, however one has been consistently on the rise, the sex trafficking industry. This industry has grown so much as to even surpass drug trafficking as the #1 seller on the black market according to the Polaris Project. The main victims of sex trafficking are women and children. More specifically, sex trafficking has been plaguing Latin America, making it an important site for the heinous trades of human beings made all around the world. This also makes Latin women primary victims of this system. The objectification of Latin women has given them the stereotype of hot and sensual that men and women keep supporting. This stereotype feeds into the horrible explanation that misogynists give for their misogyny which is “she was asking for it”. With such stereotypes contributing to social traps as well as economic instability, Latin women become targets for sex trafficking.  Traffickers take advantage of the debilitating socioeconomic struggle occurring in the region and immigration influx as well, to overall benefit from the high levels of poverty and machismo in Latin America. Nonetheless, Latin American culture supports the very same system that pushes against women’s rights and protection by forcing them onto a role of submission towards all authority whether that is legal authority or just male. In this essay I will dive deep into the following questions: Where did this come from in the first place, why is it still prevalent, and how does this support sex trafficking. By answering these questions, I hope to highlight the importance of understanding the correlation between machismo and sex trafficking.

The Trajectory of Sex Trafficking (Colonialism, Machismo and Religion)

The sex trafficking industry isn’t new, the sexual abuse and exploitation of Latin women has been occurring for centuries. In fact, Black and Indigenous women were exploited in early colonial Latin America. For instance, the United Nations website CEPAL shows that, “The use of black and indigenous women was seen as free labor, free sex, and reproducers of free labor and free sex for years to come. Latin women were and are seen as machines. Ones that need to do the cooking, cleaning, childbearing and caring. Machines that are at the service of everyone else but themselves. We see remnants of that today. On my trip to Honduras in August of 2020 I noticed the groups of men sitting outside drinking while their wives were cooking. One hand flipping tortillas and the other carrying a baby. These groups of men still whistling at the young women walking by in their school uniform. These actions done by men are normalized and are result of generational acceptance of these social tropes. Sexual servitude ties hugely with the idea of machismo in Latin America. Machismo benefits men and creates a hostile culture where men must be aggressive in order to qualify as a real man. Their aggression becomes pointed to women where they set standards for them of how they must be. Machismo supports the idea of women being submissive and objectified because of men’s “superiority”.

Women are then told to conform to standards that continue the exploitation of them like the ideologies of women having to be in the kitchen and taking care of the kids. In an article about Afro-Cuban cyberfeminism, author Judith Sierra-Rivera presents an anecdote: “she remembers a FMC conference in which Castro distributed pressure cookers to the women in attendance—a gesture that denoted the sinuous relationship between patriarchy and the revolution.” This example shows how Latin American machismo is prominent in their own governments and has infected their culture. For many Latin women the role they have is simply their normal. This alone creates an unhealthy connection with self-image and the power women have. The role women have to constantly make people happy is something that is so incredibly hard to accomplish yet so gravely expected from them. In a short story by Jamaica Kinkaid we are illustrated this unattainable ideal and the constant back and forth, running around, and piecing apart that women do to themselves to try to reach this: “but what if the baker won’t let me feel the bread?; you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?” The doubt that grows even after fulfilling their role because the system that set it is constantly against them; against their image, power, and importance. This source does well at establishing that this is a system that women teach their daughters and so forth. We see that mother’s do this out of love even though it sounds like such an exaggeration. This is the only way girls can be in order to be a ‘good’ woman for men and for other women to see. The emphasis on other women also judging can also be seen as the social acceptance of these constructs and how normalized they are to the point that women go against other women that defy them. It is hard to believe that colonialism is at fault for the labeling of women as easy objects to do whatever man wants.

The book The Cambridge History of Violence III by John Gilbert McCurdy, also brings up exploitation of women: “[Spanish Conquistadors] also sexually exploited native women. Assuming that nakedness and affability indicated a natural lustfulness, Spanish conquistadors used violence to force native women to become their sexual partners.” (p.285) Latin American culture has been tarnished by this segmentation of power from the start. Many women become compliant because this system is all they have ever known. The effects of the exploitation of these black and indigenous women are still prevalent issues in Latin America today. Another device used to maintain such social constructs is religion. Religion has become one with Latin American culture. A Pew Research study done in 2014 showed that 69% of Latin Americans identify as Catholics and a growing number of Latin Americans are pursuing the protestant faith. The use of religion to support gender roles and constructs that machistas (misogynists) then use to their advantage. The depiction of Jesus in Latin America is in itself already a glorification of whiteness and Eurocentricity. A plethora of people of different colors and walks of life praising a straight white man. The bible becomes a weapon in the hands of misogynists. Ephesians 5:22-23 in the bible states: Wives, be submissive to your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head and Savior of the church, which is His body. But as the church submits to Christ, so also let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. The interpretation of verses like these to push submission from women and benefit male authority is very common in Latin America.

Religion being so heavily ingrained in Latin cultures makes it very difficult for women to stand up against the men that many times are on altars preaching about the role of women and the mold they must fit to reach the divine. Women are frowned upon for not obeying the Lord’s word and the immorality of feminism which men in Latin America abhorrent and claim that God abhorrent as well. This is also a topic where women themselves accept things in the belief that they are doing God’s will and that men being the head of the house must always be leading them in correct paths. The generational chain of religion allows for these hierarchical beliefs to stay alive. Social constructs like gender roles were put in place from the start of Latin America as well as the involvement of religion which substantially disadvantaged Latin American women. The objectification and sexualization of these women have kept them at the bottom of the gender caste system that men themselves created. Latin American women are kept in a vulnerable category that has been reinforced for centuries and is still present now.

Beauty Standards and Media Hyper-Sexualization

This all ties into the narrative that is associated with Latin American women. They are not only expected to follow a certain role but also a standard of beauty in order to please society. In connection to coloniality, beauty in Latin America is measured by proximity to whiteness. The whiter skin, lighter eyes and hair, and taller you are the more beautiful you are. This constant challenge to reach perfection in areas they can’t even change. An influx of anti-Indigeneity and anti-Blackness consumes Latin America. In a UCLA article by Camille Ray, it states: “If you were to Google the word “Latina,” you would quickly notice the undeniable similarities between the women presented. Dramatically curved bodies, bronzed facial complexions, and red-pouted lips constitute the stereotypically “attractive” Latinx women at the expense of cultural intricacy.” After reading I decided to go ahead and Google the word Latina. The first images were pictures of Shakira, Sofia Vergara, and a huge group of girls that are all beautiful yet don’t represent in totality the composition of Latin America. The lack of Afro-Latina and Indigenous Latina representation only further reinforce Eurocentric standards as the ideal. A DailyPress article by Maria Jimenez Moya, the author emphasizes that: “Even if an ethnic minority is white-passing, when their nationality is revealed, it may heighten their sexual appeal to people that value exoticism.”

The exoticization of Latin American women objectifies them in a way that reinforces Eurocentric beauty standards as the norm and creates ideologies on minorities because of their difference. Girls grow up believing that they must look a certain way to appease this idea of what a Latina should be, whether that is color or body image. Film director Arisleyda Dilone wrote in a Buzzfeed article about her experiences as an intersex woman trying to reach this hyperfeminine level beauty standard: “growing up, it seemed the size of their breasts was all the women in my family could talk about. Their obsession made me want breasts the way other kids wanted the latest car or purse.” Latin women begin to measure their Latinidad and beauty with the biased ideology that has been pushed for years. The idea of the hourglass body and accentuated breasts and butt is one that contradicts the natural bodies of most Latinas. Latinas then feel that in order to feel like true women they must have those hourglass bodies. Arisleyda Dilone also recounts an experience with her ex-partner where he stated feeling like he was having sexual relations with a man when he was with her. This supports the unspoken idea that anything that isn’t hyperfeminine is just masculine when it comes to women. Quotes like ‘antes muerta que sencilla’ (I’d rather be dead than plain) are phrases Latinas grow up hearing that justify their constant need to feel like they must fit the Latina mold. One of the biggest Latin telenovelas is ‘Betty La Fea’ or ugly betty. A show that presents a girl named Betty that has braces, glasses, a unibrow, and wears unflattering clothing. Betty does not have social power in her place of work, and she is crushing on her boss. However, for her prince to fall in love with her she had to reject the ‘ugly’ exterior and become the Latina standard. The glasses and unibrow come off and in short, we have a Latina Cinderella story that gets the man, and he makes all of her dreams come true. Here we are presented with two ideas in one. One that supports unhealthy beauty standards amongst women and another that supports needing a man in order to reach success in all areas of their lives. In the show we can see the portrayal of women against women as well, in the sense that, women in Betty’s workplace were pushing the stereotype that she was not able to pursue a man due to her appearance that did not fit the mold. This show has become so popularized that it’s themes live internalized within many Latinas where they feel they won’t ever get the life they want unless they have this Cinderella story with the ultimate makeover and the providing man.

Representation in media is a huge factor in why these ideologies still exist today. The same DailyPress article gives the example of the character Gloria in Modern Family, “actress Sofia Vergara’s portrayal of Gloria in Modern Family is completely built upon false and offensive stereotypes. Gloria is a Latina trophy wife that is always in high heels, sexualized clothing and is hot-headed.” These representations contribute to the fetishization of Latinas. The portrayal of women in media like telenovelas and tv shows which are mostly directed by men, supports viewing Latinas as highly sexual women. This creates a stereotype that Latin women can’t seem to break. The fetishization of Latinas is one that has infected screens of all types and has been greatly seen in pornography. A LuzMedia article states: “In 2022, the term “Latina” ranked as the 4th most searched keyword in the adult film industry. This serves as a stark reminder of how our ethnicity is reduced to a sexualized fantasy, reinforcing the objectification and devaluation we face.” The porn industry is one that supports the fruition of sexual stereotypes. Latin women become objectified and are seen as an experience instead of a person. Latinas are seen as naturally sexual women that are ready and want to have sex whenever. The portrayal of them in porn is one that is desperate for male dominance and making Latinas out to be sex toys that are available and disposable at any time. An article from Affinity Magazine on races in the porn industry states: “We are the maids that are seduced by the rich husbands, the secretaries giving a blow job to our white corporate bosses or the unfaithful wives. We are the ‘hot and spicy’ girls giving our body for a green card, because, of course, most of us are undocumented immigrants.” Does this sound similar? This ‘Ugly Betty’ mentality of pursuing male validation takes over every part of media when it comes to Latina portrayal anywhere. Latin women’s roles in porn and media contribute to the growing number of sex trafficking due to how valuable the ‘experience’ of being with a Latin woman has become. The example of hot, steamy, and submissive is a desire many want to feel beyond watching a screen. This created a price tag that has been put on Latinas, which is one that many traffickers are willing to sell for.

Sex Trafficking Tactics and Targeting

With stereotypes creating social traps another factor is used against Latin women; economic instability making Latin women easy targets for sex trafficking.  Traffickers take advantage of the debilitating socioeconomic struggle occurring in the region and the immigration influx to overall benefit from Latine poverty and machismo. Sex traffickers seek vulnerability in their victims’ making women in Latin America a desirable target. The socioeconomic instability in the region can cause desperation in the search for sources of income. Statistics on poverty in Latin America on Unodc.org show that “In Latin America, about a third of the population live in poverty, more than a tenth in extreme poverty. More than half of the region’s total income goes to the wealthiest 20 percent.” Many women in Latin America fall for scams and unfortunately get involved into the sex trafficking industry against their will. Traffickers use economic disadvantages in “developing/underdeveloped” countries to prey on need. Another important factor is the search for safety out of their countries and communities. Women and children running away from danger within their own communities are susceptible to falling into sex trafficking traps due to people making promises of certain income, jobs and stability. Traffickers can also be found in the Guatemala/Mexico border, the path many Central and South American people take to reach the U.S.A. An article titled “The Trafficking of Women and Girls in Latin America”, argues that “Chiapas is the Mexican state most vulnerable to human trafficking. The victims are mostly irregular migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They are exploited in bars and brothels, and their clientele is mostly local.” People like “polleros” or smugglers promising to bring women and girls to the U.S end up changing the course of many immigrants’ lives by trapping them. The Polaris Project is an organization that is studying the sex trafficking industry and its close connection to Latin America and Latin women/girls. Based on their research the biggest age group affected is 18–30-year-olds from Mexico and Central American countries. For the majority of their testing and research they find that most victims were either lured through social media or caught near the border to then be offered money and jobs with a painted picture that they could receive the American dream. The idea the coming to the United States and being able to live the life portrayed in movies and cinema is one that many families hope to fulfill. However, falling into traps is all too common and many times unnoticed in America. In a report by BorderReport.com it states: “The owner of a cantina in the South Texas border town of Mission has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for trafficking young girls from Mexico and forcing them to perform sex acts for her bar patrons.” There are 100’s of stories like these and probably more than 1000 untold ones of sex trafficking happening in plain sight. Latin Women are victims, but Latin America as a whole is also a place used to hide sex trafficking. In the movie Sound of Freedom, we primarily see the topic of child sex trafficking however a big thing to notice is the use of women in the same industry as traffickers. Women are the least probable offender off this crime making them the best ones to commit it. The same need and desperation for money pulls women into doing the crime and putting other women in cycles. This hunger for money only grew after the pandemic and with that sex trafficking grew as well. In article by AmericaMagazine.org it states: “We received several reports concerning fake modeling agencies that required the girls to expose themselves through a webcam,” Sister Ugarte said. A five-minute online video interaction may suffice for traffickers. After recording them in a compromising state, they pressure their victims to give into their demands.” Sex traffickers can adapt to any form of trafficking, but their tactics stay the same. They find desperation in women and use their learned submission against them to get them caught in the deadliest trap they could ever create. Therefore, forcing women into a life of sexual servitude that many don’t ever break.

Conclusion

After reading and looking through so many articles and data I noticed the underlying issue of sex trafficking is beauty standards and gender roles. Latin America is a place hugely affected by colonialism in the sense that the beliefs and assortment of power based on gender still exists to this day. If women are seen as less and grow up seeing themselves as less, then it creates a culture of hatred and submissiveness to a corrupt system. Their submissiveness and lack of power and say in their own countries and countries by which they cross is used against them when caught face to face with sex trafficking traps. Not only are Latinas being used and out down by men but by their very own Latin sisters because how deep these ideologies of beauty and roles are penetrated in Latin cultures. Machismo being one of the biggest devices used to give reason to horrible trades like these is something that are far too normalized in Latin American countries. Overall, sex trafficking will continue to remain alive if we continue to create unhealthy beauty standards that support colorism and glorification of unattainable bodies. Seeing Latinas as exotic women can be compared to selling exotic animals. The sex trafficking industry finds them more desirable due to their “species”. However, in this essay I hope to have answered my three primary questions, that sex trafficking started since the beginning of Latin America through colonization, that its prevalence is due to the coloniality of beauty standards and gender roles, and that these two big topics with the use of socioeconomic disadvantages support sex trafficking. The effects of coloniality on beauty standards must be addressed and talked about in order to give space for Latinas to change the narrative. The sex trafficking industry takes advantage of the stereotypes and uses it for financial gain. These factors are all interconnected and very problematic because they put Latinas in dangerous and vulnerable situations. Latinas wait for the fall of this rising industry, in a world that craves it so deeply.

REFERENCES

CEPAL. 2023. “La Trata de Mujeres: Sus Conexiones y Desconexiones Con La Migración y Los Derechos Humanos.” , Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe, www.cepal.org/fr/node/22911.

Sierra-Rivera, Judith. 2018. Afro-Cuban Cyberfeminism: Love/Sexual Revolution in Sandra Álvarez Ramírez’s Blogging. Latin American Research Review 53(2), pp. 330–343. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25222/larr.323

Kincaid, Jamaica. “Girl.” The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories, edited by Tobias Wolff, Vintage, 1994, pp. 306-07.

Antony R, Carroll S, Pennock CD, eds. In: The Cambridge World History of Violence. Vol 3. The Cambridge World History of Violence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2020:i-i.

Pew Research Center. (2014, November 13). Religion in Latin America. Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/11/13/religion-in-latinamerica/#:~:text=As%20of%202014%2C%20the%20new,agnostic%20or%20no%20particular%20religion).

Staff, Y. (n.d.). Ephesians 5:22-33 Modern English version (MeV): YouVersion | The Bible App | Bible.com. https://www.bible.com/bible/1171/EPH.5.22-33.MEV

Bang, M. (2022, November 16). The latinx beauty ideal: How eurocentrism perpetuates stereotypes. FAST at UCLA. https://www.fastatucla.com/fast-at-ucla/the-latinx-beauty-ideal-how-eurocentrism-perpetuates-stereotypesnbsp

Moya, Maria Jimenez. 2019. “Our True Face: Latina Women Are Exoticized and Unfairly Portrayed in the Media.” The Daily Free Press, 9 Oct. 2019, dailyfreepress.com/2019/10/09/our-true-face-latina-women-are-exoticized-and-unfairly-portrayed-in-the-media/.

Dilone, A. (2017, March 15). My intersex body, my breasts, and me. BuzzFeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/arisleydadilone/my-intersex-body-my-breasts-and-me.

Saláis, N. (2023, September 8). Unveiling the dark truth: The massive problem of Latina fetishization. Luz Media. https://luzmedia.co/latina-sexualization

Staff,  byAffinity M., Staff, A. M., Park,  byIdie, Park, I., Liu,  byKatie, & Liu, K. (2023, February 21). The problem with race in the porn industry. Affinity Magazine. https://affinitymagazine.us/2017/07/25/the-problem-with-race-in-the-porn-industry/