Gina Torres Perception Of African-American Women In Hollywood

Gina Torres is an outspoken Afro-Latina actress whose career offers a multifaceted window into depictions of women in television and film. Born in New York, to Cuban immigrant parents, Spanish was her first language. (NBCUniverso) Because of her height, beauty, and commanding screen presence the majority of her roles are strong women, from warriors to lawyers. Her hybrid identity as an Afro-Latina woman in Hollywood opens discussion of the historical treatment and lack of representation of Afro-Latina actresses on film. For most people, their immediate perception of Torres is that she is an African American woman, because of this her work also gives insight into the experiences of African American actresses. Finally, the heavily gendered

In Madame Noir, Nicole Akoukou Thomson (2014) writes that, “Fairer Latinas not only earn more Latina roles, but Afro-Latinas are often pushed to solely play African-American parts, forced to stifle a part of their ethnic identity.” Thomson (2014) argues that this “is problematic because it perpetuates the social invisibility of Afro-Latinos.” Torres told NBC Universo that “When [she] became an actress, [she] quickly realized that [Hollywood] liked [Latina actresses] to look Italian and not like [her]” (NBCUniverso, 2012). This forced her to audition for African American roles. This directly reflects what Thomson argues about Afro-Latina actresses. Torres explains that even though she could speak Spanish and understand “the culture better” than her counterparts she still went for African American parts (NBCUniverso, 2012). While this may not seem to be a genuine portrayal, Torres feels that growing up she experienced the world in the same way an African American woman would, because of the way most people identified her based solely on the color of her skin (NBCUniverso,

In a reoccurring guest spot on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Torres played Nebula, a role that is both secondary and reflects the Blaxploitation origins of female action heroines. Her character is in many ways an Ancient Greek flavored throwback to the ‘Baad Bitches’ of Blaxploitation films. Being both beautiful and standing at a commanding 5’10”, Torres’ casting as a powerful warrior is a common theme of her career. In Hercules, the filmmakers play with her physical presence showing her towering over Hercules’ sidekick Iolaus. Nebula in one scene is both an emasculating presence, questioning Iolaus’ sexuality, and then immediately making a sexual advance (Raimi, 1997). In a twist on the Blaxploitation image of a powerful woman, she is both a threat to masculinity and a predatory object of sexual aggression and