Stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States are general representations of Americans considered to be of Hispanic and Latino ancestry or immigrants to the United States from Spain or Latin America, often exhibited in negative caricatures or terms. Latin America is generally considered to comprise all of the politically independent territory of the Western Hemisphere other than Canada and the United States that was originally colonized by the Spaniards or Portuguese. "Latino" is the umbrella term for people of Latin American descent that in recent years has supplanted the more imprecise and bureaucratic designation "Hispanic." Part of the mystery and the difficulty of comprehension lie in the fact that the territory called Latin America is not homogeneous in nature or culture. Latin American stereotypes have the greatest impact on public perceptions, and Latin Americans were the most negatively rated on several characteristics. Americans' perceptions of the characteristics of Latin American immigrants are often linked to their beliefs about the impact of immigration on unemployment, schools, and crime.
Portrayal in film and television
Lack of representation
When discussing how Hispanic and Latino individuals are represented in television and film media, it is also important to acknowledge their vast underrepresentation in popular programming. The individuals are often stereotyped on television, but they are rarely even seen. Latino Americans represent approximately 18% of the US population but only 0.6 to 6.5% of all primetime program characters, 1% of television families, and fewer than 4.5% of commercial actors. That poses the issue that Hispanic and Latino characters are not rarely seen, but even when they are, they are more than likely to be stereotyped. In the unlikely case that they are depicted, they are more likely to be limited to stereotypic characters, usually negatively. In September 2021, Bryan Dimas, co-founder of Latinx in Animation, mentioned an animated series with about 52 episodes which never "had a person of color that was a writer...other than one of the executive producers and some of the production crew," but said that shows are moving away from "having white writers writing for Black characters or Asian characters or Latino characters," and said that he believed there was a wave of more diverse representation in the future.
Stereotypical representation
Stereotypical representation of Hispanic and Latino characters are typically negatively presented and attack the entire ethnic group's morality, work ethic, intelligence, or dignity. Even in non-fiction media, such as news outlets, Hispanics are usually reported on in crime, immigration, or drug-related stories than in accomplishments. The stereotypes can also differ between men and women. Hispanic and Latino men are more likely to be stereotyped as unintelligent, comedic, aggressive, sexual, and unprofessional, earning them titles as "Latin lovers," buffoons, or criminals. That often results in the individuals being characterized as working less-respectable careers, being involved in crimes (often drug-related), or being uneducated immigrants. Hispanic characters are more likely than non-Hispanic white characters to possess lower-status occupations, such as domestic workers, or be involved in drug-related crimes. Hispanic and Latina women, similarly, are typically portrayed as lazy, verbally aggressive, and lacking work ethic. Latinas in modern movies follow old stereotypes. Latinas are still deemed as "less than", objectified and known for being to be alluring to others. Because of this, many Hispanics are treated terribly and seen as invaders to Americans.