# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Chel

Animators

Rodolphe Guenoden (supervising animator)

Manuel Almela

Philippe Le Brun

Bruce Ferriz

Clarie Morrissey

Bo Johannesson

Mike Nguyen

Dave Kypczyk

Jane Poole

Inspiration

Princess Teegra from Fire and Ice

- Esmeralda

- Pocahontas

- Jane Porter

Personality

Sassy, caring, feisty, beautiful, flirtatious, romantic, seductive, sensible, resourceful, compassionate, athletic, loving, funny, intelligent, kind, sweet, bubbly, voluptuous, cunning, smart, mischievous, cheeky, witty, very motherly (around children), energetic, sarcastic, brave, clever, adventurous, hot-headed, independent, tough, level-headed, a bit manipulative, vocal, enthusiastic, gallant, humorous

Appearance

Slender, athletic, voluptuous hourglass figure, tan skinned, brown eyes, long black hair, two-part dress that exposes her midriff, barefoot

Occupation

Thief, con artist, Tulio's girlfriend

Goal

Help Miguel and Tulio with their lie (succeeded)

Be with Tulio (succeeded)Go to Spain with Miguel and Tulio (succeeded)

Home

El Dorado (formerly)
Spain

Likes

Gold, children, Bibo, adventure, partying, cute boys, flirting, Tulio, spending time and being with Tulio

Dislikes

Not being listened to, being turned down, danger

Powers and abilities

Pickpocketing, smooth-talking, athleticism, seduction

Fate

Returns to Spain with Miguel and Tulio

Quote

""Save it for the high priest honey. You're gonna need it.""

Chel is the deuteragonist and Tulio's love interest/girlfriend of The Road to El Dorado. She is voiced by Rosie Perez.

Chel is an Indigenous young woman with long straight black hair with sideburns that sometimes cover her ears and flat bangs that end above her eyebrows, brown skin, brown eyes, an unprominent rose, and pinkish red lips. Her figure is slender, athletic, and heavily voluptuous as seen by her hourglass figure.

She wears an off-white loincloth with pink stripes at the end and a pink, orange, and off-white crop top revealing her midriff and is always barefoot. She also wears turquoise earrings and bangles. At times she is seen with golden earrings.

Chel is cunning and clever and sort of the femme fatale of her village: she sneaks around, trying to gather information on the two visitors, and even though she discovers that Tulio and Miguel are not gods, she keeps their secret, hoping to use them and their riches to fund her own escape.

Her local knowledge is key to keeping up the Spaniards' façade for as long as possible. She also appears to be naturally good with children. She compliments Miguel and Tulio well as she is smart, brave, adventurous and a natural con-artist, just as they are and prefers to do things without any set plan in mind. She dreams of leaving her village for the outside world.

Eventually, she grows to care for the us two con men and values them for who they are and not what she can get out of them. She eventually also becomes attracted and infatuated to and has developed a genuine crush and eventual love for the older Tulio, after a short time of flirting with him as the film progresses.

Over the course of the movie, Tulio becomes attracted to Chel, due to her young figure, and she eventually also becomes attracted to him and they become a couple.

Her caring side also comes out when she is around children and animals.

Little is known regarding Chel's background. She is obviously unhappy as Tulio and Miguel meet Chel when she is fleeing El Dorado after stealing the golden head of a statue. She is purposefully vague when asked why she would want to leave, stating only "You've got your reasons... and I've got mine." As many of the villagers wear gold jewelry and none of Chel's original jewelry is gold, this could signify that she was poor or in a low societal position. Her parents and other family members are never mentioned or seen, hinting that she is an only child, and her parents are long deceased. The real El Dorado was of the Muisca peoples who have lived in Central Colombia from AD800 to the modern day. By modern standards Chel (and everyone in El Dorado) would be considered Colombian.

After overhearing Miguel and Tulio celebrating too early over their scam, Chel quickly strikes a deal with the two: She will use her local knowledge to help make the scam work in exchange for leaving El Dorado with them. Tulio and Chel later argue over what her cut of the treasure should be.

Tulio leads Miguel to the realization that mixing the younger Chel into their plan could be troublesome and they both agree that "Chel is off limits." Regardless of this, Chel successfully initiates a relationship with Tulio. She sees that in a moment that he is stressed and, takes advantage of it. She starts massaging him, and he starts to resist. He then massages her, when seeing what she is doing. The two are later seen on the floor, with the room fully messed up. It is implied here that they had an sexually intimate moment. Chel pleases Tulio, until Tzekel tries to find Tulio and they stop. Chel's pursuit of Tulio is most likely an attempt to con herself into a better and more secure position. However, as the plot progresses, she develops genuine feelings for him and loves him, as they share a kiss and become a couple.

When Miguel finds out about Chel and Tulio's relationship, it tears a rift between him and Tulio, as Miguel loves Tulio. Miguel presumably thinks Tulio was double-crossing him when he insisted Chel was off limits and cheats on him so that Tulio could have her to himself. Miguel decides to stay in the city while Tulio and Chel choose to leave. During Tulio and Chel's departure from El Dorado, they run into trouble with their ship. Miguel steps in to help and decides to go with them.

Chel is friendly with Miguel throughout the film, but especially to Tulio, being very vexing towards him.

Chel is found to be much younger than Tulio, as she is drawn as an attractive young adult (meaning her shorter height is natural for her age), while Tulio being a older man, in his late twenties or early thirties, as he stated he had been a thief before she was born.
But, due to the age range of couples in the era not being a huge factor, as today, it could be seen as common to his and her character.

Chel shows a varying past, but it is implied that she is a pleasure girl of some sort, as she is seen down by many, though many men took interest in her "services".

It hinted she might also be a slave as she wears revealing clothing while the rest of the women in El Dorado do not wear the same and has the tasks of setting flower peddles for the sacrifices or talking with the chief.

Chel is the first offical Princess from a Dreamworks Film.

Chel is the 2nd female main protagonist in a Dreamworks Animation film, the first being Ginger from Chicken Run. The third being Eep Crood from The Croods and Poppy from Trolls.

Originally, The Road to El Dorado was going to have a pg-13. Which would explain why Chel was given a voluptuous figure with revealing clothing.

There has been controversy over Chel by some over the years. Many complained about the revealing clothing she wore, the design of her body being heavily sexual [given the film was mostly aimed at younger audiences], the way her character was portrayed, and the indication of a sexual scene with Tulio during the film. Many mostly blame her for almost ruin the relationship of the two main protagonists, with some believing she was used for a poor example for the film. Regardless, she is still memorable as the film got more recognition in recent years.

Recently, 21 years later after the films release and growing popularity, Chel has been voted 1# as the "best animated girl in film history" among fans and other media that make these polls. This technically means that Chel is now regarded as a famous character in modern films.

Chel has recently began to appear in memes. Though unlike the memes used of the film as comedy, the memes that place Chel are used in describing either her appearance as romantic or how one remembered Chel from their childhood.

There is an alternate version of Chel known as "Goth Chel" that has gained popularity on the internet at some point. Goth Chel doesn't look much different from Chel. Only wearing a black tube top and loincloth, Fishnet tights, and makeup on the eyes and lips. Goth Chel has gained enough popularity that cosplayers are able to replicate her appearance.

Chel has often been compared to Kida from the 2001 animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire from Disney. With some even paring them due to their similar wardrobe. Though unlike Chel, Kida wasn't designed with a sexualized appearance. Kida is a Princess while Chel was hinted to be a slave of some kind. One major difference is that Chel appeared before Kida. As The Road To El Dorado came out a year prior to Kida's film in 2001.

o

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Chel is the deuteragonist and Tulio's love interest/girlfriend of The Road to El Dorado. She is voiced by Rosie Perez. Chel is an Indigenous young woman with long straight black hair with sideburns that sometimes cover her ears and flat bangs that end above her eyebrows, brown skin, brown eyes, an unprominent rose, and pinkish red lips.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hear me out: why Maid in Manhattan isn’t a bad movie

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Continuing our series of writers defending unpopular films is a reappraisal of the absurd yet compelling Jennifer Lopez/Ralph Fiennes romantic comedy

# data[].attributes.body
video

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
The Spicy Latina Trope, Explained | Watch | The Take

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Spicy Latina Trope, Explained | Watch | The Take

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Spicy Latina: For nearly a century now, she has been the sultry face of Latina representation. The trope of portraying Latin women as exotic and hot-blooded—passionate in both love and in war—arose before the advent of cinema. But even as we’ve progressed toward more enlightened, more diverse characters in general, the Spicy Latina has remained a stock Hollywood figure—a go-to source for laughter and lust in everything from action movies to sitcoms. Here’s our Take on where these fiery Latinas came from, the misconceptions they’ve created, and why they should likely be extinguished.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As Hispanic Heritage Month begins for the United States, a new report shines a light on the absence of Hispanic and Latino representation in the film industry. The results reveal that there is little for the Latino community to celebrate in popular films.

The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative assessed leading and co-leading Hispanic and Latino actors and all Hispanic and Latino speaking characters across 1,300 top-grossing films from 2007 to 2019, plus the presence of directors, producers and casting directors. The report also focuses on Latino and Afro-Latino leads and directors. This report marks a second in a series from the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, Dr. Stacy L. Smith and in partnership with Eva Longoria 's UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Mauricio Mota's Wise Entertainment.

Some of the top findings include the following:

Leads and Co-Leads

7% of films from 2019 featured a lead/co-lead Hispanic/Latino actor

3.5% of leads/co-leads were Hispanic/Latino across the 13-year time frame.

5% of leads/co-leads in 2019 were Latinx, as were 2.2% of all protagonists across 13 years.

Only 6 Afro-Latinos worked as leads/co-leads across the 13-year time frame.

All Speaking Characters

5.9% of all speaking or named characters in 2019 were Hispanic/Latinos of any race.

There has been no change over time in the prevalence of Hispanic/Latino speaking characters.

Only 5% of all 51,158 characters identified across the full 1,300 film sample were Hispanic/Latino.

Behind the Scenes

4.2% of directors across the 1,300 films were Hispanic/Latino.

There was little difference over time - 4.5% of directors in 2019 were Hispanic/Latino.

Only 3 Hispanic/Latina women worked as directors across 13 years.

Longoria, who just wrapped shooting on her directorial feature debut "Flamin' Hot," tells Variety there is "an illusion that there is representation because a few key people are doing well." She goes on to say, "studios love to throw the word 'diversity' around because it's the trendy thing to do, with programs and fellowships and internships. But if nothing leads to jobs, all they get to do is have a press release and check a box without any real systemic, sustainable change. The numbers don't lie."

Very few Hispanic and Latino actors fill leading roles in popular films. A mere 7% of films from 2019 featured a lead or co-lead, which is not significantly different from the 3.5% across the 13-year time frame. However, more than half of the leading roles were occupied by women across the 1,300 movies examined, including six of the seven in 2019. Yet, Latina women still represent only 1.9% of all leading roles across 1,300 films.

Dr. Smith says we need to see an unequivocal "influx of capital" for the Latino community. "There have to be studios to ensure that storytellers have access to the same amount of resources. There have to be executives to hear those pitches, and be responsible and greenlight those ideas and give equal marketing dollars."

The study also explored how many leads or co-leads were Latinx - defined as Latinos born in the U.S. and not of Spanish origin (unless in combination with another Latino ethnicity). Five percent of 2019 leads or co-leads were Latinx, as were 2.2% of all protagonists. Moreover, only six Afro-Latinos worked as leads or co-leads across the 13-year time frame, while three held leading roles in 2019.

Turning to all speaking characters, a mere 5.9% of all speaking or named characters in 2019 were Hispanic/Latinos of any race. Moreover, there has been no change from year to year in the prevalence of Hispanic/Latino speaking characters. Overall, only 5% of all 51,158 characters identified across the full 1,300 film sample were Hispanic/Latino.

The report offers solutions that span casting, hiring, and the talent pipeline. Based on the Initiative's previous study and the lack of change witnessed here, these solutions offer guidance for those working in entertainment and advocates, philanthropists and audience members to increase representation and decrease stereotyping on screen for the Hispanic/Latino community.

The report is the latest from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and can be found online.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
New Study on Latinos in Leading Roles and Speaking Parts Offers Little to Celebrate for Hispanic Heritage Month

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A new study shows very little progress in Hollywood with Latinos in leading roles and speaking parts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When it comes to Latino representations in Hollywood, they're often rooted in stereotypes. Most female characters are either cleaning ladies or spicy Latinas. The men are often drug-pushing cholos or dance-floor kings.

The same can be said of Eugenio Derbez's "How to Be a Latin Lover," in theaters Friday, in which his character is supposed to be the suave, good-looking eye candy of everyone's dreams. Derbez however is aiming to poke fun at the stereotype to reveal that "every single man in the world has a Latin lover inside of him."

"It's just a matter of losing fears and being more comfortable," he says. "To be a Latin lover, walk into a room with confidence, make strong eye contact with a woman you like and have a good pickup line. If none of that works, just wear a yellow Speedo."

But not all Latino roles based on stereotypes are created equal. Below are four cliché-riddled roles seen in film and television over the years that it's time to bust.

The spicy sexpot

When "Modern Family" debuted in 2009 with Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, many saw the show's diverse casting choices as enlightened. Yet many Latinos complain that Vergara's character often devolves into a mix of sex siren and feisty-Latina tropes. "What's wrong with being a stereotype?" Vergara has said in the past. "Gloria's character is inspired by my mom and aunt."

Sofia Vergara, left, and Ed ONeill on "Modern Family." (Danny Feld / ABC)

The maid

Hollywood loves Latinos as janitors or maids. From "Family Guy's" Consuela to Jennifer Lopez in 2002's "Maid in Manhattan," such characters have inundated pop culture. Sometimes the trope comes from Latino producers. Eva Longoria's "Devious Maids" was criticized when it debuted as a "wasted opportunity," though it lasted four seasons.

Jennifer Lopez portrays Marisa Ventura, center, a hotel maid in "Maid in Manhattan." (K.C. Bailey / Columbia Pictures)

The gangbanger

While 1961's "West Side Story" will forever be iconic - it did win 10 Oscars and catapulted Rita Moreno into legendary status - Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins' film adaptation of the 1957 Broadway musical helped set the template of Latinos as gang members and street thugs, as seen in everything from 1993's "Mi Vida Loca" to Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black."

A scene from the film "West Side Story." (MGM /UA Entertainment)

The Spanish-only speaker

Not all Latinos speak only Spanish. Some Latinos, in fact, don't speak Spanish at all. Many Hollywood depictions however, like 2004's "Spanglish," spotlight those who struggle through English, unable to communicate with others. While this may be true in some instances, the prevalence of these types of characters paints an incomplete picture of an entire community.

Paz Vega, Téa Leoni and Adam Sandler in "Spanglish." (Bob Marshak / Columbia Pictures)

ALSO Eugenio Derbez shares 'How to Be a Latin Lover' and still break stereotypes RuPaul, the world's most famous drag queen, on pushing boundaries and getting political 'All Eyez on Me' star on the movie that offers a Tupac 'you can't see anywhere else' Disproving the 'black films don't travel' Hollywood myth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
4 Latino stereotypes in TV and film that need to go

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When it comes to Latino representations in Hollywood, they're often rooted in stereotypes. Most female characters are either cleaning ladies or spicy Latinas. The men are often drug-pushing cholos or dance-floor kings.

# data[].attributes.headline
Bodyfifilm: The Cinematic Representation of Latinas

# data[].attributes.subject
Bodyfifilm: The Cinematic Representation of Latinas

# data[].attributes.headline
New Bechdel Test Reveals Lack of Latina Representation in Hollywood

# data[].attributes.subject
New Bechdel Test Reveals Lack of Latina Representation in Hollywood

# data[].attributes.body
People magazine

A new Bechdel test by FiveThirtyEight reveals Latina characters are mostly uneducated, accented, and sexualized.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A new Bechdel test by FiveThirtyEight reveals Latina characters are mostly uneducated, accented, and sexualized.

# data[].attributes.headline
INTRODUCTION: CHANGING GENDER PERSPECTIVES IN LATIN AMERICAN FILM

# data[].attributes.subject
INTRODUCTION: CHANGING GENDER PERSPECTIVES IN LATIN AMERICAN FILM

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
INTRODUCTION: CHANGING GENDER PERSPECTIVES IN LATIN AMERICAN FILM on JSTOR

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
JULIANNE BURTON-CARVAJAL, INTRODUCTION: CHANGING GENDER PERSPECTIVES IN LATIN AMERICAN FILM, Journal of Film and Video, Vol. 44, No. 3/4, Latin American Cinema: Gender Perspectives (Fall 1992 and Winter 1993), pp. 3-7

# data[].attributes.body
'How love sells in the films'

In my opinion, love is a very important part of life, something we can relate to one way or another, making it a principal category in any genre of film.

# data[].attributes.headline
How women of colour have been hyper-sexualized in media.

# data[].attributes.subject
How women of colour have been hyper-sexualized in media.

# data[].attributes.body
"The most disrespected woman in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman." - Malcolm X

# data[].attributes.headline
Colonizing Black Female Bodies Within Patriarchal Capitalism: Feministand Human Rights Perspectives. (Journal)

# data[].attributes.subject
Colonizing Black Female Bodies Within Patriarchal Capitalism: Feministand Human Rights Perspectives. (Journal)

# data[].attributes.body
This article argues that modern imagery of the Black female body exists in opposition to sexual health and sexual rights by focusing on existing representations of Black female eroticism as a legacy of colonialism. It addresses Black feminist thought on the history and contemporary use of the Black female body and offers a human rights perspective on uses of the Black female body within patriarchal capitalism.

# data[].attributes.headline
Sex Stereotypes of African Americans Have Long History

# data[].attributes.subject
Sex Stereotypes of African Americans Have Long History

# data[].attributes.body
(Transcript)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
FARAI CHIDEYA, host:

And now we are going to outsiders who give us a historical look at the black body as a product. With me is Herbert Samuels, a sex educator and professor of natural and applied sciences at LaGuardia Community College in New York. And also Mireille Miller-Young, a women's studies professor at the University of California Santa Barbara. Welcome to you both.

Professor HERBERT SAMUELS (Natural and Applied Sciences, LaGuardia Community College): Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here.

CHIDEYA: Thank you.

Professor MIREILLE MILLER-YOUNG (Women's Studies, University of California): Thank you.

CHIDEYA: So Mireille, let's start with you. Siobhan found that black women were paid less, treated worse than other strippers. What do you think that says about the value that's placed on black women's bodies in general?

Prof. MILLER-YOUNG: Oh absolutely. I think that Siobhan is very correct in her research. She talks a lot about in her work, which I've read extensively, about the lower erotic capital of black women in the sex economy as being reflective of our lower value in the entire labor economy. And I think that - my work specifically looks at pornography, for example - you can see that in the production of the types of films that black women appear in: lower production value, less of the kind of market, lower kind of values in how they treat the workers. Women are paid half to three quarters of what white actresses tend to make. And this, you know, reflects the ways in which black bodies have historically been devalued in our labor market since, you know, slavery to the present. I think that, you know, it speaks to the ways in which there's this simultaneous problem that was like a deep desire to have those bodies present and to consume those bodies as commodities, but a deep disgust for black people, our humanity and our bodies, at the same time that allows that devaluing to function.

CHIDEYA: Herbert, you study intimacy. Now, stripping and pornography are multi-billion-dollar industries. They provide one view of black sexuality. Do they tell the real story of how African-Americans are - Siobhan mentioned this view of black folks as oversexed, for example.

Prof. SAMUELS: Well, in many ways it's a social paradox that if you look at the history, and really going back to the mid-1500s or so and continuing on to slavery within the United States and even further than that, black men and women were said to be animalistic in their sexual desires, particularly black men. That black women were very easy and responded enthusiastically towards any sexual advance that anyone would want to approach them.

And now we get to a point where if the paradox is the devaluation of what in the erotic industry or the sex work industry is doing is the exact opposite of what one would think given the history and attitudes particularly that white societies had about African-American men and women.

CHIDEYA: What strikes me is that both of you, and Siobhan, are also in this world where sex and sexuality is being discussed in an academic way as never before. And Mireille, you wrote a 2005 article for Color Lines magazine that talked about what you said, quote, "the institutional sexism and racism of the adult entertainment business." Why do you want to study this? Why is this important? I feel like, you know, for example, a lot of my relatives probably right now are saying, why is Farai even covering this.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Prof. MILLER-YOUNG: I'm glad you are covering it. Thank you. Because this needs to be discussed in our community. I think that, you know, part of the problem is that, you know, our kind of freedom struggle has been like deeply masculinist, often misogynistic in its nationalism in terms of ignoring the kind of labors of not only women, but gay people, trans people.

We have, like, a deep history that has kind of been articulated through homophobia and through erotophobia. And it's understandable. I mean, you know, what Dr. Samuels was speaking of, that we have to understand from the beginning. Slavery existed as a sexual economy, and that black bodies have always been (unintelligible) both breeders and concubines. They have been erotic - kind of illicit erotic commodities in an economy that is built upon our labor.

And one of the ways in which black communities try to deal with that is through kind of this culture of dissemblance or scholars discuss it. Which is basically about disidentifying with sexuality, you know, in total, in order to protect their selves from that kind of symbolic and actual threat that, you know, being hypersexual posed, particularly, you know, for example, the kind of scapegoating of black people in lynching as being, you know, sexual animals.

So, you know, we can have understand the kind of politics of respectability, then, as a way to kind of, you know, protect the community. But ends up - the problem is that it polices the community and disallows us to even talk about sex. Sex becomes the unspeakable. And it's so shocking and taboo within our own community for many people to talk about sex, let alone sexual labor, which my interest is in drawing a kind of genealogy to talk about. There's been a long history of black women and men participating in sexual labor as one kind of labor option...

CHIDEYA: Let me...

Prof. MILLER-YOUNG: ...(unintelligible) kind of space.

CHIDEYA: Let me get Herbert back in here, because I was really struck by Mereille talking about the way that African-American folks, we may disidentify with sexuality as a whole in order to protect the image of the community. Do you think, Herbert, that the struggle between this view of the hyper-sexualized black man and black woman and the kind of correct, you know, right path walking person creates a space where people who are not strippers and not necessarily anti-pornography crusaders just feel like, gosh, you know, what can I do as a person in order to express myself as a full person, but also, you know, sort of be a standup person. Does that make any sense to you?

Prof. SAMUELS: Oh, sure. It makes perfect sense. And there's always been a split within the black community about accepting your sexuality for what it is and in what it might be presented to a larger community. And again, it goes back to the hyper sexuality of black men and black women. And you walk a fine line where you want to have a satisfying sex life yourself but you don't want to be perceived as being overly due it.

So the pendulum sort of swings back and forth to where you have - in certain situations where you want to, you know, have a mainstream view, but in other situations you are told that you are, you know, something that you're not. And then trying to come to grips with that and trying to develop a sexual identity that you're comfortable with oftentimes leaves people in almost a sense of cognitive dissonance, if you will.

CHIDEYA: We've been talking mainly about black women. And women are more likely, I believe, to be involved in the sex industry, but there are certainly men who engage both on the legal side of stripping and the illegal side of prostitution. How are men in general affected by the way that men are portrayed in, whether it's pornography or, you know, onstage, things like that? Herbert first, and then Mireille if we have time.

Prof. SAMUELS: Sure. Well, that's a double-edged sword. I mean, if you look at it from one perspective, the number of things that have been said about black men in this country for the most part have been about as negative as you can possibly get. That you're shiftless, that you're no good. I mean, in terms of that.

And if you can get one positive thing out of it, if someone says that you are good at sex or that your penis is bigger than anyone else's, that's about the only positive that you can get out of all those negatives to a certain extent. And I think some black men have bought into the myth that they are hyper sexual, that their sexual prowess and the size, the physicality is greater than others. And it's sort of a false identity that sets up, and you buy into that myth yourself rather than discovering who you are as an individual.

CHIDEYA: Very, very, very briefly, Mireille. What about men?

Prof. MILLER-YOUNG: Yeah, I think that it's really interesting what's happening with men, at least in the pornography business. Black men have historically been really marginal, but it's been in the past, you know, ten years that actual male stars in the industry are black men.

So something's happening where, and I think perhaps through the kind of popularization of hip-hop and the kinds of, you know, hyper consumption around black masculinity as it's being commodified throughout the world, there's a certain way in which, you know, black men have come to stand in as, like, the symbol of sexual prowess that a lot of white men...

CHIDEYA: We've got a...

Prof. MILLER-YOUNG: ...are buying into.

CHIDEYA: All right, Mireille, Herbert, thank you so much.

Prof. MILLER-YOUNG: Thank you.

Prof. SAMUELS: My pleasure.

CHIDEYA: Herbert Samuels, sex educator and professor at LaGuardia Community College, and Mireille Miller-Young from UC Santa Barbara.

(Soundbite of music)

CHIDEYA: Next on NEWS & NOTES, a new resource to find slave ancestors and Condoleezza Rice's first authorized biography.

Copyright © 2007 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sex Stereotypes of African Americans Have Long History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Herbert Samuels, a sex educator and professor at LaGuardia Community College in New York, and Mireille Miller-Young, a womens studies professor at UC Santa Barbara, talk to Farai Chideya about the role black men and women have played in the American sexual imagination.

# data[].attributes.headline
Hyper-Sexualization of the Black Female Body and the Predominating Stereotypes of Black Women

# data[].attributes.subject
Hyper-Sexualization of the Black Female Body and the Predominating Stereotypes of Black Women