Hi, Arran! I read your post about writers using the Spanish language in fic, and I wanted to ask about one part of it, just to get your thoughts.
You called it a 'massive red flag' when writers write a character who is fluent in Spanish without using any Spanish in their fics. I personally sent a lot of words in Javi P.'s direction, but with limited Spanish, because when I first arrived in the fandom a few years ago, there was a lot of talk about fetishizing the Spanish language and Spanish speakers. There was something of a consensus* then was that using lots and lots of Spanish could be intentionally or unintentionally positioning the character as 'exotic' which I think we all can agree is a little gross.
I think I took that in and have always been careful to try to reflect Javi's tendency to use English when speaking with native English speakers, and not to use Spanish just for the sake of Spanish alone.
It's entirely possible there is no one right thing here, because no group is a monolith, but I would like to do the thing that feels most respectful to the fandom where it stands now!
*consensus in the parts of fandom I was in, of course, and not necessarily every circle.
Hi Megan! Happy to see you here and to know that you’ve used Spanish in your fics to some degree, that’s awesome <3 I’m apologizing in advance for how long this is 🥲 and also I want to clarify that this is not aimed at anyone in particular.
I did say that I’d consider it a massive red flag when there’s no spoken Spanish in a fic, but I did say it in the context of a writer italicising dialogue to imply it’s being said in Spanish. So if the dialogue is meant to be spoken in Spanish because of context (e.g. set in Colombia, with Spanish speaking people nearby) or because both people understand the language (e.g. Javi is speaking to a Colombian person), yes, I’d expect to see at least some Spanish words in there instead of italicising everything.
However (and perharps I didn’t make this clear in the other ask you are referring to), you are 100% right. Using Spanish just for the sake of it and when it makes no sense for it to be spoken, it’s 100% fetishising the Spanish language and more specifically Latinas. I would recommend these two articles because I find them to be quite insightful into this topic and they explain quite well how the fetishization of Latinas and of the Spanish language take form:
The foundation of fetishization:
Fetishes are not mere preferences. They have real consequences for the members of the community they target. Latinas have had to deal with negative mental health, psychological doubt, sexual trauma, gendered violence, and more simply because they deviate from the white sexual standard and are ‘exotic.’ It is time for people to reevaluate their dating ‘preferences’ and recognize the racism that underlies their fetishes and the dangers they pose to those affected.
A dive into the degrading world of fetishization Latinas live in:
The exclusionary nature of white cultural normalcy may act as a barrier to the cross-cultural understanding necessary in the United States’ tumultuous socio-political climate. Racial fetishization, an issue inside and out of the bedroom, degrades an individual to a single identifier and suggests a notion of bodily conquest. Instead of valuing the person, a “fetishizer” values a fantasy.
So yeah, I was more referring to situations where it makes sense for Javi to be speaking Spanish (he’s talking to another native Spanish speaker, he’s talking to a reader, he’s reading some Colombian or Mexican newspaper excerpt out loud, to give some examples). Completely erasing his mother tongue and have him speak no Spanish at all (again, when it makes sense) doesn’t sit right with me, I’d consider it a form of whitewashing the character.
Many x reader writers assume that their readers don’t speak Spanish, and they either state it plainly in their fics, or subtly by having a Latinx character (Javi, in the case of this fandom) speak to reader in only English. There are plenty of readers who are native Spanish speakers so I’d assume that for them it stops being a reader insert fic – it does for me. And then, on top of this, BIPOC folk also have to see certain adjectives being used over and over again that do not include them.
So I completely agree with this:
I think I took that in and have always been careful to try to reflect Javi's tendency to use English when speaking with native English speakers, and not to use Spanish just for the sake of Spanish alone.
Most bilingual people I know (native Spanish speakers) will instantly switch to English if the other person doesn’t speak Spanish. I do this all the time. We obviously don’t want anyone to feel excluded or uncomfortable, so for Javi to do that, it makes complete sense to me. However, the moment the English speaker is gone… many of us tend to revert back to Spanish, or Spanglish (a mixture of English and Spanish) in some cases. Javi is Mexican American though, so in his case he probably feels equally comfortable in both languages, so for him I’d say it’d depend on who he’s talking to / what situation he is in (I don’t write much for Javi so I’m not fully aware of all his lore, even though I’ve watched Narcos. Someone who has “studied” him and writes for him more often than I do is probably better suited to tell you).
I understand that as non-native Spanish speakers, it might be difficult for you guys to know when the usage of Spanish is relevant and when it’s not. Sadly there’s no guidelines for this, but I can give some rough bullet points:
Javi speaking Spanish (either just some words or full sentences) to another Spanish speaking character (no one else is present) – OK
Javi switching to English/Spanish/Spanglish if the context allows it – OK
Javi speaking Spanish to reader (if they know/speak/understand Spanish) – OK
Javi speaking Spanish to English speakers for no reason – Not OK. It’s a hurtful stereotype that it’s been seen in English-speaking TV wayyyyy too often (e.g. the immigrant who has arrived to the US and speaks no English whatsoever).
Javi and reader dirty talking in Spanish – OK if both use it but comes with caveats. OK if your reader knows/speaks/understands Spanish. Not OK if the reader has white traits (personality or physical, however subtle they are) or is somehow implied to be white, because then I’d say it’s a no (and this also has some more caveats to it - more on this here).
Non-Spanish speaking reader requesting Javi to talk dirty to them in Spanish – NOPE.
Non-Spanish speaking reader requesting Javi to use certain Spanish words even outside of a sexual context – still a NOPE.
I’m sure there are many more but I can’t think of them right now!
Now, there may be some caveats to all of these. For instance (and I’ve done this many times), if an English speaker pisses Javi off and he curses at them in Spanish, I’d say it’s fine. Or if Javi and another Spanish speaking character are wanting to prevent a third person from knowing some important details of a mission (I’m making this up, but e.g. Javi and Carrillo talking in Spanish so Noonan doesn’t know every detail for whatever reason).
I obviously can’t speak for the entire Spanish speaking community here. I am a white Spanish woman and I come with my own biases that I fight and challenge every day, but I still may get some things wrong. So please don’t take everything I say as 100% true. And as always, if a Spanish speaker reads this and thinks “Hey, Arran, you’ve got this wrong” and feels like sharing (this bit is important), please do let me know so I can rectify my mistakes and educate myself.
All this to say… Yes, the fetishisation of the Spanish language and especially Latinxs is utterly gross and despicable, and should NOT happen. Ever. Completely erasing their identities and whitewashing them… I don’t think it’s right either. I’m not sure what’s the overall consensus though because as you say, no group is a monolith. But I’d say that as long as people do their research, aren’t racist, are mindful and are willing to rectify mistakes when these are pointed out (because we all white folk have some ingrained racism in us that we aren’t aware of), then you’re probably on the right path.
Happy to keep the conversation going! <3 And sorry for rambling so much, I just didn’t want to leave any thoughts out haha
