Girls – and what it means for young Latinas

Girls2 300x166 Girls and what it means for young Latinas

Ever since I read Lena Durham’s interview with Soledad O’Brien during the Fortune Most Powerful Women Conference I have been meaning to write about it. Why? First because I think she’s brilliant (who doesn’t?) and two because her next move will mean the world for young Latinas and here’s why:

At one point during the interview Soledad O’Brien mentions “The critics of your show [referring to the HBO series titled "Girls"] have said it’s elitist.  They’ve said for four young women in New York City there are almost no people of color who they interact with, which for New York City would be very unusual.”

And as Lena addressed the question she mentions something I thought very important: “in the second season there are a multitude of new characters who enter.  Some are people of color, some are not …”

That immediately caught my attention: she’s going to introduce girls of color? Will there be any girl of Latin descent? Why am I asking and giving this importance? If the show is going to introduce a young girl who is U.S Hispanic (in short, born and bred in the U.S and of Latin American heritage), it will be interesting to see how she is portrayed.

Lena might not know how many young Latinas are yearning for content on screen that reflects them more.

I recently spoke to one such young Latina who told me that she is “yearning for original content that doesn’t only highlight Latina success stories [it's a disservice to portray them as all fully integrated, she says], but also their strife, as young women, as they search for success in career and life in general and as they celebrate how proud they are of their heritage.” She mentions “original content is much more than what we’re seeing on TV. I want to see what I see every day and what American society might deem ‘unexpected’.”

I don’t see a platform better suited for this than Girls. So what would ‘unexpected’ look like on Girls?

In any case, I’d love to continue this discussion with those willing to give their opinion – if a woman of ‘color’ or perhaps someone of Hispanic heritage is introduced to Girls, what would she be like?

And as a conclusion, I’d be remiss if I didn’t second what Soledad O’Brien said at the end of the interview: “Lena Dunham, it’s nice to have you.”

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Natalie Boden is the founder and Managing Director of BodenPR, a Miami based boutique Hispanic PR firm.

She is a member of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, Vital Voices and the U.S Department of State’s Pathways to Prosperity.

Follow Natalie Boden on Twitter, @natalieboden

Follow BodenPR @bodenpr and on Facebook www.facebook.com/bodenpr

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Latinas, Pink Tank - Marketing to Latinas | View Comments

Who is influencing the Latina Vote?

LatinaPress 748x1024 Who is influencing the Latina Vote?

All the growth in the 18-49 year old market will come from Hispanic women. That is an important fact considering that the Hispanic market is already at 52 million — and projected to represent the bulk of population growth during the next five years.

We heard this insight and much more from the publisher of People en Español, Monique Manso, at this year’s AHAA conference, a comprehensive advertising and marketing industry event dedicated to the U.S. Hispanic market. Discussing the annual HOT Tracker, a major study rolled out by People en Español in partnership with Cheskin that takes an inside look at the changing role of Latina women and how they make purchase decisions, Monique gave the audience a sneak peek into some of the study’s results including the following:

  • A Latina’s identity is not always pervasive in her purchase habits. When the Latina makes a purchase decision she modulates her cultural identity accordingly; culture has a strong way when purchasing household and beauty products, for example, but not necessarily when purchasing technology.
  • Latinas are more affluent now than ever before and opting less and less to not work.
  • She is taking inspiration from successful women – Latinas or non Latinas - and holding on strong to her cultural identity.

When considering this insight and the fact that Latinas are voting more than ever before (a recent NBC Latino piece by Sandra Lilley states that 34.3 percent of eligible Latinas voted in the last election, while only 29.1% of Latino men did), it is not surprising that Latinas are a key audience during this election year. The NBC Latino piece also states that in fact, Latinas, much like white and African American women, have been voting in much higher numbers than men. In 2008, 70 million American women voted, almost 10 million more than men, according to the U.S Census.

So we took a close look at what is influencing the Latina voter –  from the traditional media, to her role models and also included the new up and coming media that is reflecting her influence and interests:

  • Celebrities – From Nely Galan to Sonia Sotomayor, business leaders to civic leaders, Latinas look up to the women who are great role models for them individually and as a group.
  • English Language – The English language media they consume includes both those that have a cultural relevance to her (i.e. VoxxiMujer, NBC Latino, Latina, HuffPost Latino Voices)  as well as those that do not necessarily give her culturally relevant content (i.e. Oprah Magazine, the NYT’s Motherlode blog).
  • Organizations: She follows key organizations that empower her and the communities she belongs to -  from the National Latina Business Association to the National Council of La Raza.
  • Legacy Media: She is a heavy consumer of legacy media in both Spanish and English. She can on a local level read The Miami Herald, on a national level read The New York Times and follow broadcast shows as different as CNN en Español and  Univision’s Viva La Familia.

The Latina living in the U.S. is as multifaceted as the media she follows. She is highly informed, highly influential and it will be important that the campaign courting her vote be just as diverse. Remembering, as well, what Dee Dee Blasé, founder of The National Tequila Party Movement (a female-led political movement), stated:  “In order to get the Latina vote it’s not about putting a vice presidential candidate with a Hispanic name on the ballot, but about the record, and what you stand for.”

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Natalie Boden is the founder and Managing Director of BodenPR. She is a member of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence and the U.S Department of State’s Pathways to Prosperity. She is an active participant in Vital Voices, bringing visibility, training and mentoring to Latin female business owners.

Follow Natalie Boden on Twitter, @natalieboden

Follow BodenPR on Twitter, @BodenPR and on Facebook www.facebook.com/bodenpr

See some of BodenPR’s work in the Latina space for clients such as FedEx, Delta Dental and Oliver Pyatt Centers.

See BodenPR’s study on Latinas and Social Media.

Posted in Discussions - Into the Future, Innovation in PR, Latinas, Pink Tank - Marketing to Latinas | View Comments