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• 1 2017-11-20T10:47:34-08:00 Using #latinahashtags 8 plain 2017-12-07T17:28:21-08:00             The final part of this project looked at which, if any, Latina hashtags Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez, and Sofia Vergara were using. Specific hashtags searched can be found on the page labeled “Methods” and are partly based on the links pointed out in this article from Buzzfeed. 'Latina hashtags' is meant to encompass a wide variety of hashtags that bring attention to issues associated with latinidad, such as inadequate representation of Latina actors (#fiercelylatina) or the wage gap between white men and Latina women (#latinaequalpay). Hashtags are generally used to make it easy for different users to express a common idea and have their tweet linked to other tweets with the same hashtag. In this context, Latina hashtags are hashtags that connect tweets talking about similar issues Latinas face.
              Although many different hashtags were searched, the total count was surprisingly low. Neither Selena Gomez nor Sofia Vergara tweeted with any hashtags that have been used to raise awareness for Latina representation. Only Jennifer Lopez used any of the hashtags. Between October 12, 2017 and October 18, 2017, Jennifer Lopez tweeted 15 times with the hashtag #somosunavoz. The use of this hashtag was to raise awareness for Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria and gather donations for relief efforts. In an interview with People magazine, Jennifer Lopez celebrates her connection to Puerto Rico, saying “With the Latino community, I am theirs” and also claims the label of “Hispanic”, meaning that she is both Latina and Hispanic because she speaks Spanish and is from a Latin American country.
  
              Selena Gomez has also expressed her pride in being Latina and has even called for more representation of Latinos in the media. When asked about her Latin roots in her interview with Latina, she states that “there aren’t enough Latinas in Hollywood—or there are but they don’t get recognition” which makes clear her stance on Latina representation. Yet she does not express these views explicitly on Twitter, which is a lost opportunity to advertise the cause to her millions of followers.
              Sofia Vergara has a slightly more complicated relationship with Latina representation. On the one hand, she has been admired for her huge success, including being the world’s highest-paid actress for five years in a row. With her lead role on the TV show Modern Family, Sofia Vergara has certainly brought attention to Latinas in the US. However, some critics, such as this writer for the Huffington Post, are disappointed by her use of Latina stereotypes. Her character on Modern Family, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, is the classic stereotype of a sexy Latina woman who is not always very smart and has a very thick accent. In a very literal sense, Sofia Vergara is creating more representation for Latinas, but it is debatable whether or not that is good representation. Therefore, her lack of tweets discussing Latina representation is also disappointing.

      Each of these celebrities has millions of followers that would all see if they tweeted out a post with a hashtag supporting Latina problems, but have either not used Latina hashtags at all, or, in the case of Jennifer Lopez, only in recent limited use. Even though each one claims to be proud to be Latina and support Latina representation, none of them chose to take advantage of Twitter as a great tool to disseminate ideas quickly and to millions of people.