Social media (Twitter, most notably) has been responsible for the incitement of countless trends and movements, and #HispanicGirlsUnited, a hashtag that trended with fury last week, is probably one of the best among them.

A myriad of Latinas took to Twitter to shine a light on what it means to be a Latina in the U.S., while simultaneously overturning ethnic stereotypes and verbalizing thoughts on cultural expectation, sexism, racism and beauty standards.

Latinas offered numerous examples of micro-aggressions, major offenses and observations. They also explored weaknesses within their own culture, such as the presences as machismo attitude exhibited by men. They also discussed cultural misappropriations and stereotyping, e.g., the inescapable "The Spicy Latina" pigeonhole. Through words of support and frustration, the women shared what it means to constantly have images forced upon them as they relentlessly educate the mainstream about important facts. For example, not all Latinos/Hispanics are Mexican, and burritos aren't inherent to Latin culture.

#HispanicGirlsUnited trended furiously because it encouraged and empowered young Latinas to look beyond the stereotypes that propose to hold them back. It showed that young Latinas are more than able to boost their sisters up and push them forward with positive words of advisement. Also, the hashtag did a great deal of good by addressing the most prominent stereotypes hindering Latinas. The act of holding a light to the maladjusted presumptions and fantasies made popular by the mainstream media reveals how shallow and thinly-veiled that ignorance is.

While humorous, #HispanicGirlsUnited should be pinned as a point of reference for those who are too unaware to recognize that "benign" comments and assertions about Latinas and Hispanic women are anything but. Also, perhaps the greatest takeaway is that Latinas are diverse, multifaceted and absolutely fed up with the having labels forced upon them.

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