There is no ethnic justification for ambushing family viewers with an overtly sexualized halftime show — that a bunch of young girls were dragged out at the end only made the whole affair even creepier. Furthermore, the fact that it was all tied together as a hamfisted campaign commercial for the Democrats made the entire show far cheaper than the sum of its parts.
The only subtext worth noting was that the show provided parallel examples of entrapment, and that is the figurative trap of stripping, and the literal traps of the tiny little cages anti-Trumpers imagine children to be kept in. (The truth is a little more complicated than that, particularly given that Mexico is a global center for child prostitution and human trafficking, be it for sex or labor. What are the odds that not all of the children separated from their “parents” actually belong with them? Is there a possibility that at least some of the children are being spared danger and misery by being separated, and thus protected, from the adults claiming to be their parents who shuttled them across the border?)
Yes, Latin culture includes some sexualized dance moves, but is that really the totality of Latino/Latina culture? Did the halftime show do anything to debunk the stereotype of latinas being “hypersexual”? Isn’t there more to Latin culture than shaking hips and thrusting groins, at least in contexts that involve children? If the answer is “no”, then perhaps latinas and latinos need to re-examine themselves and their culture before they perform with and in front of children, including impressionable young girls.
Otherwise, don’t complain when stereotypes about latinas persist.
I’d like to think it’s possible to promote latina culture in a way that is classy, and without acting like an animal constantly in heat. The halftime show would have been an excellent opportunity for the performers to rise above harmful stereotypes, and do better by the impressionable younger members of their culture, but sadly they opted to simply push outrage buttons and glorify female objectification.
