"I don't understand labels. I don't need anybody to tell me I'm Latina or black or anything else. I've played characters that were written for Caucasian females, I just want to be given the same consideration as everybody else, and so far that has been happening"
About this Quote
The most revealing move is her appeal to “consideration.” That word reframes casting as a fairness problem, not merely a creative one. When she says she’s played characters written for “Caucasian females,” she’s exposing a baseline assumption: whiteness is often treated as the default setting of character, while everyone else is a “type.” Her career becomes evidence that the default can be rewritten - but only when decision-makers allow it.
There’s also a pragmatic subtext: she’s negotiating survival in an industry that rewards marketable identity while punishing artists who seem “difficult.” The line “so far that has been happening” reads like careful diplomacy, a nod to progress without picking a fight with the system that signs the checks. It’s optimistic, but guarded: opportunity arrives not as a right, but as a permission slip.
Quote Details
| Topic | Equality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Saldana, Zoe. (2026, January 14). I don't understand labels. I don't need anybody to tell me I'm Latina or black or anything else. I've played characters that were written for Caucasian females, I just want to be given the same consideration as everybody else, and so far that has been happening. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-understand-labels-i-dont-need-anybody-to-169155/
Chicago Style
Saldana, Zoe. "I don't understand labels. I don't need anybody to tell me I'm Latina or black or anything else. I've played characters that were written for Caucasian females, I just want to be given the same consideration as everybody else, and so far that has been happening." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-understand-labels-i-dont-need-anybody-to-169155/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I don't understand labels. I don't need anybody to tell me I'm Latina or black or anything else. I've played characters that were written for Caucasian females, I just want to be given the same consideration as everybody else, and so far that has been happening." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-understand-labels-i-dont-need-anybody-to-169155/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.





