Demographics of Hispanic and Latino Americans
The demographics of Hispanic and Latino Americans depict a population that is the second-largest ethnic group in the United States, 52 million people or 16.7% of the national population, of them, 47 Million are American citizens.
Stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
When discussing how Hispanic and Latino individuals are represented in television and film media, it is also important to acknowledge their vast under representation in popular programming. Not only are these individuals often stereotyped on TV, but they are rarely even seen. Latino Americans represent approximately 18% of the United States population, but only 0.6 to 6.5% of all primetime program characters, 1% of television families, and less than 4.5% of commercial actors. This poses the issue that Hispanic and Latino characters are not only rarely seen, but when they are, they are more than likely to be stereotyped. In the unlikely case where they are depicted, they are more likely to be limited to stereotypic characters, usually negatively.