ARNOLD'S LATINA SLIP MUST SPARK DIALOGUE.

Byline: ENRIQUE C. OCHOA and GILDA L. OCHOA Local View

THERE is nothing new about Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's description of state Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia as ``very hot'' because of her ``black blood'' and ``Latino blood.'' Even Garcia's claims -- that the governor's comments are just an inside joke and that she is ``a hot-blooded Latina'' -- are not surprising.

It was just two years ago that Mexican President Vicente Fox made similar offensive comments about African-Americans. These ``jokes'' or ``slips of the tongue'' are part of the enduring legacy of gendered racism that is woven into the fabric of society. And their ramifications are real.

Schwarzenegger's comments are reminiscent of beliefs that were rampant through the early 1900s. These beliefs equated status in society with genetic, innate differences between groups. Northern Europeans were assumed to be biologically superior to all other groups -- including Southern and Eastern Europeans, blacks, Native Americans, Asian-Americans and Latin Americans.

Such genetic determinism helped to justify 250 years of enslavement of African-Americans, attempts at cultural genocide against Native Americans, and segregation and U.S. imperial expansion.

Schwarzenegger's remarks also echo dominant thinking throughout the 19th century where the ``mixing of blood'' was negatively perceived. The first Anglo-Americans who came to what is now the Southwest perpetuated the belief that Mexicans in the region were inferior to Anglos precisely because of their mixed heritage. Such biological thought fueled attempts to maintain ``white racial purity,'' and with the exception of Vermont, all U.S. states introduced legislation banning interracial unions.

Schwarzenegger's comments also suggest the specific ways that racist perceptions have interacted with sexism to justify the denigration, sexualization and exploitation of women of color. During the period of U.S. invasion and domination of Mexico and Central America, popular music and travel literature written by Anglos stereotypically cast Latinas as sexually promiscuous, available, or ``hot blooded.'' As with African- Americans during slavery, these characterizations of women of color had significant ramifications, including the justification of kidnapping and rape.

Schwarzenegger's comments reveal the insidious ways that such beliefs continue to shape public consciousness and institutional practices. Central to the anti-immigrant movement today is the mistaken belief that Latinas' sexuality leads to too many children and an overuse of public services. In the current War on Terror, Middle Eastern women are often viewed as repressed victims of a backward culture that need to be saved by a superior U.S. culture.

Communities of color have long challenged these discriminatory attitudes and actions. By teaching their children counterhistories, maintaining their cultures and languages, and fostering solidarity within their communities, women of color have engaged in multiple forms of resistance. The recent immigrant-rights marches are part of the contemporary ways that Latinas/os are countering anti-immigrant movements and white supremacist ideologies.