PREFACE

Originating in the mid-1800s, the term greaser first came to be used against those of Mexican appearance in California and the Southwest. Although some suggest the derogatory description came from the practice of Mexican laborers in the Southwest greasing their backs to facilitate the unloading of hides and cargo,1 others suppose it stemmed from a similarity between Mexican skin color and grease.2 Its origin may be more disparaging still—the “greasers” label may derive from longstanding conceptions of Mexicans as unkempt and unclean, with unwashed, greasy black hair. “Greasers” was a popular reference by U.S. troops in the U.S.-Mexico war of 1846–1848, as well as by settlers in gold rush California.3 Its original usage appears to have been sexualized, a way to describe a “treacherous Mexican male who was sexually threatening to and desirous of white women.”4 Although the term continued to be associated with Mexican men in its Hollywood usage, “greasers” came to refer to Mexicans generally, encompassing both sexes as well as both Mexicans and Mexican Americans.5 Further, the term originated as a derogatory reference toward those of Mexican origin, but its use expanded over time to encompass Peruvian and Chilean miners during the California gold rush and, more broadly, to describe anyone of Spanish origin. The term greasers and the negative sentiments behind it had legal bite too. In 1855, California adopted the Vagrancy Act, known popularly as the Greaser Act, addressing “all persons who are commonly known as ‘Greasers’ or the issue of Spanish and Indian blood . . . and who go armed and are not peaceable and quiet persons.” Targeting the supposed “idle Mexican,” this antiloitering law was the precursor to modern laws directed at loitering, gang activity, and other apparently race-neutral offenses that in practice are often used to justify interrogatory stops of persons of color.6 Hollywood embraced the “greasers” label to describe its unflattering