Penelope Cruz Beauty Advertisment

A 30-second commercial featuring Penelope Cruz for L'Oreal Hair Color. This example will be the central focus and support for my argument of how language and ethnicity intersect to racialize people through the theory of intersectionality.

What is intersectionality?

The theory of intersectionality aims to introduce the notion that different identities such as race, language, class, gender and sexuality closely interact with each other to shape the multiple dimensions of an individual. The objective of this concept is to highlight the many ways in which the experiences of individuals can be captured by examining the different ways in which they intersect and construct the political, representational and structural identity of a person. Rather than polarizing each aspect of an individual on the basis of class, race, language or gender, intersectionality acknowledges how these elements collectively converge to construct a person’s social identity.


How can we discuss the relationship between language and ethnicity using the theory of intersectionality?

We can discuss the relationship between ethnicity and language by understanding how intersectionality incorporates the many different characteristics of a person in order to describe their entire identity. Thus, a person's gender, sexual orientation, accent or native language, ethnicity and class all are equally important when understanding the "whole" of an individual. Ethnicity and language become linked because language often prescribes the ethnic origin of a person. Whether the hint is because of their accent or their foreign language, linguistic distinctiveness can often shed light to a individuals ethnic identity.

In addition to this argument, language can also play the antagonist role when incorporated into the social phenomenon of "optional-ethnicity". When a person's phenotypic features give them the ability to "travel" between ethnic groups, this transition or privilege can be labeled "optional-ethnicity". We can understand the relationship between language and optional-ethnicity by acknowledging how language trumps the "power of choice" that certain people receive because of their phenotypic features being similar or consistent to the majority (whites). This mainly occurs when people trying to "pass" carry with them linguistically, a thick or unique accent because of their native tongue. The presence of difference in language revokes the privilege for ethnic choice. The media example above is a prime example of this theory, and we can see why Penelope Cruz is a great illustration of how this theory works in real life and within popular media.


How is the media example non-binaristic?

The cultural text of the commercial featuring Penelope Cruz qualifies as non-binaristic because it expands beyond the common notion that ones identity is a fixed category. The commercial is an prime example in that it showcases the theory of intersectionality, and helps us to comprehend how the identity of an individual can be seen as a fluid and flux characteristic, and how ones ethnic identity can be determined by different attributes such as language, sexuality and class.
Instead of remaining exclusive to the properties of race, sex, class and gender, one can also understand the formation of a socially constructed identity by analyzing the relationship between ethnicity and language and how these characteristics frequently converge to verify ones racial identity.


Quotes/Resources:
Below are some quotes from well known scholars that help us to better understand how the intersection of language and ethnicity collectively converge to racialize people in a socially constructed world.

1. “The focus on the intersection of race and gender only highlights the need to account for multiple grounds of identity (such as class, language, ethnicity, etc) when considering how the social world is constructed” -Kimberly Crenshaw

2. “Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity- I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself. Until I can accept as legitimate Chicano Texas, Spanish, Tex-Mex and all the other languages I speak, I cannot accept the legitimacy of myself" -Gloria Anzalida

3.“… Ethnic identity flies in the face of the common sense notion of ethnicity many of us believe in- that one’s ethnic identity is a fixed characteristic, reflective of blood ties and given at birth. However, social scientists who study ethnicity have long concluded that while ethnicity is based in a belief in a common ancestry, ethnicity is primarily a social phenomenon, not a biological one” -Mary Waters

--Camille E.