In His Image, Not Theirs

The author of this essay desires to remain anonymous. It is very lightly edited for clarity by Luke Shalz.

“The only thing more powerful than hate, is love”

True, love is more powerful than hate, but what is love? Is it the mere feeling of butterflies and chemical reactions within our bodies? Or is it an action, a disposition that wills the good of the other? What is the good of the other? Is it to let them live their lives in accordance with their own will, even though those choices fall outside of the natural law? Or is it to walk alongside them and speak to them in love when they fall away from the ordinances of God? We are not perfect beings, but we are called to move towards perfection, for God is perfection and whether we realize it or not, we desire to move towards Him.

But how do you move towards perfection when the world tries to sell you a cheap version of perfection? When the world puts someone up on a stage and tells you that he represents you and your people, and if you disagree you are a hater and have betrayed your own. 

Yo soy orgullosamente Latina. Soy hija de inmigrantes Mexicanos que dejaron todo atrás para darme un futuro mejor. (“I am proudly Latina. I am the daughter of Mexican immigrant who left everything there to give me a better future”) My whole life, I have grasped this understanding of the sacrifices made on my behalf by my parents, especially my endlessly giving father. I strive everyday to be a strong representation of my culture and my people because God created me in His image and in His likeness, just the same way my neighbor is created in His image and in His likeness. 

Why do I not feel at peace with being “represented” on that Super Bowl stage? Maybe it’s because I refuse to believe that my people and my culture have disordered desires that overcome rationality and intellect, and that such disorder is our culture. I refuse to believe that—as a Latina woman—I am a mere sexual object that is meant to satisfy the most lustful eye with the curves of my body. I refuse to be sold into the lie that true freedom comes from doing whatever you want with no restrictions and no consequences, just as long as you are “happy”. I refuse to be represented by someone who consistently objectifies women in their music in order to grow in fame and wealth. 

Great! We had a Latino up on stage, but did we think twice about if he truly represented us or if he represented the stereotype that many of us are trying to move away from. I don’t want to live in an America run by the orange man, but I also don’t want to live in an America where a “conejo malo” represents me. 

I am a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a tia, a madrina, a friend, a coach, a mentor and many more things before i will ever be a “Latina Baddie”.

I am a first generation Mexican-American, who is not only the first in her immediate family to earn a Bachelor’s degree, but also a Master’s degree.

I am a hard-working Latina woman, who in her job description has the title of Director at the age of 25.

I am a Latina woman, who wants more for herself and her family, who from a young age was told that “échale ganas a la escuela para que seas alguien en la vida” (“put effort into your schooling so you can become someone”).

I am a Latina woman who works to break the generational traumas and curses that have been carried over from generations before her.

I am the cousin who drops everything when my little cousins call me and ask me to take them to get ice cream or to take them to the park.

I am the niece that gets on a plane each time her tia has a baby and helps her in her postpartum season as a live-in au pair.

I am the sister who looks out for her baby brother, even when that baby brother is no longer a baby and is a full grown man of 23 years.

I am the friend that one can always call when they need a shoulder to cry on, someone to hit them with the hard truth, or simply to grab a drink and talk, and then randomly buy plane tickets to go visit family in Mexico. 

I am more than what the progressive society seems to say that I am when it lifts up a figure like who performed at our halftime show.

I am educated. I am kind. I am respectful. I am hardworking. I am courageous. And I am honest. But most importantly, I am a daughter of the Most High, who created me in His image and in His likeness to be a representation of His love to others.