Portrayal Of Invisible Women In The Film Real Women Have Curves

According to Crawford (2012), any women who is not white, young, thin, rich, feminine and sexually available remain under-represented and invisible in media, these women are called invisible women. In the film Real Women Have Curves, two types of invisible women are depicted: bigger women and poor women.

The protagonist in the film Anna, comes from a poor Mexican-American family who believes her next step in life is to economically support them. Anna, however, has other plans for her future. She desires to go to college at Columbia University in New York. Throughout the film, Anna’s mother Carmen continually derides Anna because of her weight. Crawford (2012), states that many women believe that their weight defines them and by being heavier, they are unlovable and will be unappealing to normal men. Carmen, for example, would constantly tell her that she would never get a husband or be loved by a man if she continues to eat and look the way she does. Carmen would comment on Anna’s weight whenever the opportunity arose.

During one of the scenes in the film, Carmen and her coworkers were gossiping about an older man and his liking of one of the workers. She is a thin attractive woman whom the man desired to “fatten” up. As all the women began to laugh, Carmen adds in “but don’t get as fat as Anna. ” Once Anna heard the comment, she accidentally burned one of the dresses that she was ironing. Consequently, her mother began to ridicule her in front of all the workers which caused Anna to flee out of the factory. As Anna’s mother was chasing her, she called her “gorda desgraciada” which translates to a fat brat in Spanish. Carmen saw nothing wrong with mocking her daughter’s weight in front of her coworkers because society has made it socially acceptable to ridicule overweight women. Media, for example, has influenced public response toward overweight persons. According to Crawford (2012), an analysis of sitcoms suggested that positive comments were given by men to thinner female characters and that negative comments were given to heavier ones. These negative comments toward the heavier women were often followed by laughter. Such scenarios make it appear socially acceptable to mock bigger women publicly. These negative comments are not only seen in sitcoms but also online. A recent study found that seventy-two percent of online news images that depicted an overweight person were negative. These anti-fat attitudes that are displayed in the media have stigmatized overweight people socially. Anna unfortunately was a victim of fat-shaming by Carmen, her mother.

Another invisible woman that was present in the film Real Women Have Curves, was the poor women. These poor women, who seldom appear on television, are usually categorized as working-class women who are out of control, belligerent, or victims of dysfunctional families. Although Anna’s family was low-income, they were not depicted to be in extreme poverty. They were; however, shown to be working class women who worked with hard labor and sacrifice to support their families. The film depicted times of need and desperation for working women, such as when Estela was unable pay her workers or for the factory’s rent. Anna, however, was constantly remarked to be out of control by her mother. During one of the scenes in the film when Anna ran out of the factory her mother followed by yelling her name. As Anna ignored her mother’s hollering, a police officer stopped Anna asking if everything was okay. Her mother claimed: “Yes, this fatty is my daughter” and once the officer left she began to say “What, am I embarrassing you?” “Are you ashamed to work with us?” “So much effort, so much sacrifice, and all for what? For you?” During this scene Anna was depicted as an out of control, disrespectful and undeserving daughter. The chaos of this scene aside from other scenes in the film suggest a dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship between Anna and Carmen. Gender stereotypes are related common beliefs about women and men that attribute to personality, behaviors, physicality and social roles. Two forms of gender stereotypes that were present in the film Real Women Have Curves were personality trait stereotypes and role stereotypes. A personality trait stereotype is when people categorize or choose which traits characterize a typical woman or man. According to Crawford (2012), these traits include but are not limited to independent, self-confident, dominant, competent and ambitious for men; and nurturing, expressive, emotional and sensitive for women. Anna’s personality was a mixture of traits that would be considered masculine and feminine. Although she was a contrast, other characters in the film had apparent personality trait stereotypes. Anna’s father, for example, was portrayed as a wise, confident, independent, dominant and hardworking man. Although Carmen wanted to make all the decisions, it was Anna’s father who gave the last word. Yet, Carmen was portrayed as expressive and emotional. She enjoyed being in a community of people, but also created drama and had emotional breakdowns multiple times throughout the film.

The second gender stereotype is role stereotypes, which is when behaviors or social roles are depicted to be more typical of women or more typical of men based on traditional beliefs. A role stereotype that was present in the film was the housewife/mother stereotype. This persona is believed to be nurturing, self-sacrificing and family oriented. Carmen was the housewife/mother stereotype in the film. When she wasn’t in the factory, she was cooking, cleaning, taking care of the home and her husband. She sacrificed her dreams and aspirations to care for her family because of her role as a wife and mother. “I started to work at thirteen, Anna is eighteen now, it is her turn” said Carmen when speaking to her husband about Anna going off to college. According to Crawford (2012), “real” women are generally stereotyped to be a wife and mother. By not allowing Anna to go to college, Anna would have to work, become a mother and a good wife, just as Carmen did. In Carmen’s eyes Anna would then become a “real” woman. The way Latina women view body image and beauty standards influence their level of body satisfaction and self-esteem. Body image is the mental perspective and feelings that people have about their attractiveness, shape and size. According to the text, studies have suggested a correlation between body image and self-esteem. Women tend to be more dissatisfied with their bodies than men, and researchers believe that this concern begins in childhood and continues to develop across time. According to Schooler (2008), Latina women posed the ideal female body to have feminine curves that include a thin waist, big breasts and hips. An ideal very few women can naturally achieve. This level of unattainability may lead to decreases in body satisfaction across Latina women. According to Crawford (2012), researchers attribute these negative effects to the process of social comparison. Social comparison is when women compare idealized beauty images to their own, making them feel bad as their own appearance suffers by comparison.

To find reason behind such ideologies Schooler (2008), examined how exposure to media and acculturation influences Latina views on body image. The sample consisted of eight-one Latina girls within the age range of eleven to seventeen. Researchers asked these girls about their body satisfaction, acculturation and use of mainstream media (black-oriented and Spanish-language). They also wanted to see how their exposure to these variables over time shape their view on body image. They did so by conducting a follow up with fifty-two of the girls two years later. The study results suggest that frequent viewing of mainstream media was associated with decreases in body image across adolescence (Schooler, 2008). Per Latinas, those who watched more mainstream media were exposed to the ideal concept of a tall, fair skin and thin European woman. Latinas who were more accultured, found these tall, thin, and fair skinned actresses as valid targets of comparison, but most Latina women who typically have larger bodies than Caucasian women found this ideal to be unattainable. According to Schooler (2008), Mexican American women who have been more accultured into mainstream American culture have suggested preferences for thinner body types. An example of this preference is seen in the film Real Women Have Curves, as Carmen continually taunts Anna about losing weight to obtain beauty. Anna is seen throughout the film contemplating her size but eventually accepts her appearance and encourages other women in the factory to do the same. Toward the end of the film Anna takes her clothing off and celebrates beauty in her true flesh while shunning the ideals that media has posed on all women (and those her mother has imposed on her).

In the film Real Women Have Curves, older women are presented to be cynical or disconnected from modern society. The film begins with the scene of a very old woman serenading the neighborhood with her very loud vocals on an early weekday morning. Anna the protagonist of the story, after having a troubling confrontation with her aging mother, storms out of the house passes by the older woman, stops, stares for a few seconds and then continues to walk. Anna seemed annoyed by the older woman’s hollering but ignored her and continued with life. Instead of acknowledging the older woman through a simple good morning, she decided that starring and walking away was the most respectful option. Many including Anna may hold certain prejudice, or negative thoughts about a group, toward older individuals. These prejudices and actions of discrimination based on age is called Ageism. Assuming older people have memory problems, not taking them seriously or simply ignoring them because of their age, are all forms of Ageism. Anna’s actions toward the older lady was an expression of Ageism because instead of truly acknowledging her she decided to ignore her. In Anna’s eyes, she’s just a harmless old lady who is probably hallucinating about her performance of a life time. Another older character in the film who was not taken seriously because of her age was Carmen, Anna’s mother. Carmen was continually referred to as crazy or losing her mind. There was a point where Carmen woke Anna in the middle of the night to tell her that she was pregnant. Anna responded with disbelief: “What?! How could you be pregnant? Mom you’re imaging things, it’s probably just gas, eat less beans. ” Other characters such as Anna’s cousin commented on Carmen’s behavior “Your mom’s a little crazy” while Anna responds, “You’re just figuring this out?” These attitudes and behaviors toward the older population are more common than we realize. According to Crawford (2012), being old is seen as embarrassing or pitiable in our society. There are also stereotypes within our society associated with older women. Two stereotypes mentioned in the text were the grannies and the crazies.

According to Crawford (2012), the most prevalent image of an older woman is the warm and nurturing grandmother. Grannies are usually distinguished by their clothing and props in media. A very common display is of a grandmother who wears a house dress, an apron and is either sitting, knitting or whipping something up in the kitchen. In the film Real Women Have Curves, Carmen’s role was primarily a stereotypical grannie. Although Carmen was not a grandmother, her attire and behaviors were representative of a grannie. She wore a house dress when she was home and was frequently shown in the kitchen if she was not working in the factory. Her representation, however, did not necessarily match her age. Carmen’s age was not stated throughout the film but considering she had not begun menopause and believed she was pregnant contradicts the grannie image in which she was presented. Another stereotype for older women is that they are all in some form crazy. Per Crawford (2012), an analysis of Disney movies depicted older women to be evil, greedy and crazy. Carmen was displayed as greedy and crazy multiple times throughout the film. When it came to her intuition about being pregnant, Carmen constantly sought Anna’s comfort. At one point in the film she told Anna “I need you now more than ever, ” even though Anna was half asleep and barely listening. Instead of helping Anna pursue her dreams she belittled Anna as much as she could. She wanted the family to stay united but failed to realize that her greed deterred Anna’s growth. “I can’t take this anymore, I’m too old for this, I don’t know why I work, my hands have arthritis and I’m going blind from so much sewing” were the words Carmen told Anna after chasing her out of the factory. Carmen experienced many moments relating to age throughout the film Real Women Have Curves. As discussed, Carmen believed she was pregnant, but later finds out that she was going through menopause. Menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation and many women view it as a threat to their youth.

The film begins with Carmen complaining about pains and hot flashes (which are symptoms of menopause) but continues to complain about her age and physicality throughout: “I’m really sick, you have to make breakfast for the men. I woke up in the middle of the night soaking wet, it’s like I was on fire. ” Carmen’s first appearance was a depiction of a pre-menopausal woman who is aging and stressed about her duties. Let alone, she does not understand that Anna must attend her last day of high school. The family is shown to be lower-income Mexican Americans, as Anna was shown cleaning the windows with newspaper and was expected to make breakfast for the men instead of going to school. According to Nosek et al. (2010), women’s attitudes about aging could influence their menopausal experience. European and African Americans, for example, had more positive attitudes toward aging than Mexican/Central Americans.

The study conducted by Nosek et al. (2010), examined the relationship between a woman’s perceived stress level, her attitudes toward aging and menopause and also reported on the intensity of their menopausal experience. Three-hundred and forty-seven women between forty and fifty years old began the study while they were pre-menopausal. It was conducted over a twelve-month period in which only two-hundred and sixty-six women remained. The results suggest that women who had more positive attitudes toward menopause also had more positive attitudes toward aging. There were no mean differences in attitude toward menopause between the three ethnic groups (European, African American and Mexican/Central American) but there was a significant ethnic group difference in attitude toward aging. European and African American woman scored significantly higher in positive attitude toward aging compared to Mexican/Central Americans. According to Nosek et al. (2010), women who came from lower income families, reported higher perceived stress, more intense menopause symptoms and more negative attitudes toward aging. This research supports and justifies Carmen’s attitude and standards about aging and menopausal symptoms throughout the film. Her negative attitude toward aging explain her terrible episodes of menopausal symptoms. Carmen must have felt threaten because she was losing her youth and was predominantly stressed and over worked.

According to Crawford (2012), relational work is familial responsibilities that go beyond the immediate family. Examples provided in the text were overseeing emails, family phone calls and planning visits. Aside from physical responsibilities of cleaning and cooking for the home, women are also expected to care for their family’s emotional needs. In the film Real Women Have Curves, Anna is given responsibilities by her mother within the home. When Carmen fell ill in the morning, Anna was expected to take her mother’s responsibilities of cooking for the men. She also sought Anna for emotional support and imposed that working to support her family economically was her one and only future. It appears as if Carmen was trying to give Anna a few household responsibilities to prepare her for the future that Carmen wanted her to have (a traditional Mexican American wife). Wives, such as Carmen, do more relational work than husbands. In the film, a relational responsibility would have been to cook breakfast for the men. The men in the film were her husband, the grandfather, the cousin and an extension of others in the household. Crawford (2012) states that relational work goes beyond the immediate family, it leaks into a wide network of relatives. Anna who was focused on her education and not becoming a housewife, could not understand why her mother was giving her the task of cooking for men when she had school to focus on. Her mother was trying to keep the harmony within the home, as Crawford (2012) mentions that keeping harmony in the family has long been defined as women’s work. As Carmen took care of the household, Anna’s father was working in hard labor as the breadwinner of the home. Although Carmen worked in the factory, she was not the primary source of income. Even Estela, who owned her company did not make enough money to live on her own. The real question is why and how? Estela’s job is known to be predominantly woman’s work. They were seamstress who worked for little to no money. Her father, however, worked for a landscaping company. Hot and heavy labor usually calls for more money. It is unlikely to see a man working as a seamstress and even less likely to see a woman working in landscaping.

Sex segregation plays a vital role in the separation of gendered workforces within Anna’s home. Per Crawford (2012), sex segregation is the separation of men and women within the workforce, politically, socially and even religiously. There are two forms of sex segregation that Crawford (2012), mentions in the text: horizontal sex segregation and vertical sex segregation. Horizontal sex segregation is the tendency for women and men to hold different jobs, as depicted within the film. Even within certain occupations women and men continue to be segregated by their assigned tasks. An example provided in the text was that of retail sales, where men sold more expensive items such as cars and computers while women sold less expensive items such as cosmetics and clothing. Thus, those who sold more expensive items would reap greater income. Looking at Estela’s work conditions, the workers although under a roof worked in the Californian heat making eighteen dollars off each dress that would later be sold by the company for six-hundred. Although Estela had a business, she managed with very little security and no opportunity for advancement. Anna’s father at one point in the film, had to help Estela pay for the factory’s rent. Crawford (2012), states that men tend to hold positions that have higher status and better paying jobs than women, who often get stuck in dead end jobs. Vertical sex segregation is an example of the tendency for women to be clustered toward the bottom of the hierarchy.

In the film Real Women Have Curves, all the women in the family were destined to work in Estela’s fashion factory. Although Estela was the owner, she truly had no opportunity for advancement and neither did her workers. When four of her valuable workers left for a better opportunity, Estela found herself working ten times harder than the remaining workers. At this point, there was no hierarchy within the factory, she was stuck in a dead-end job. Either they did the job and turned in the dresses or there was no pay. According to Crawford (2012), a study that analyzed wage mobility for Swedish workers found that women were more likely to hold dead-end jobs with little raise or promotion. We witness this first hand in Estela’s position as owner of her company but also as a regular seamstress. Anna who was seeking a better future than working in the factory, saw the importance of going to college to get an education. In the film Real Women Have Curves, she expressed her opinion on women having thoughts and ideas but was immediately mocked by the other factory workers. Anna’s desire to go to Columbia was also not supported by Carmen, her mother. Carmen continually pressured Anna by guilting her into doing things. She often used phrases like “You have to help me, ” playing the role of a victim. Many times, she guilted Anna into doing things after ridiculing her in front of others. “So much effort, so much sacrifice, and all for what? For you? You only think I’m a beast of burden” said Carmen to Anna after chasing her out of the factory. After this monologue in the film, Anna helped her mother get up from the floor and cradled her back to the factory. Unfortunately, Anna faces many barriers that may limit her success in a postsecondary setting. In a review by Vasquez (1982), researchers examined and identified barriers that prevent Mexican American women’s participation in higher education. According to her literature, sex-role restrictions and low socioeconomic status account for low participation of Mexican American Women in postsecondary education. Anna who initially could not afford to go to Columbia, received a full scholarship to attend. This is not the case for every Mexican American woman. If Anna did not receive the scholarship, her chances of attending Columbia would be less likely. Vasquez (1982), mentions that Mexican American’s inability to seek financial support from their parents generally deters their chances of obtaining a degree. Aside from financial reasons, sex roles also come into play. For example, Carmen’s desire for Anna to stay local, work and uphold household responsibilities (sex-roles) would also limit her success in postsecondary education. Vasquez (1982), states that Mexican American women can overcome these barriers through motivation and positive self-expectations. Anna who was very self-motivated and held positive expectations for her future lacked one very important concept, her mother’s support.

At the end of the film Real Women Have Curves, Carmen did not say good bye to her daughter as she was leaving to New York. According to Vasquez (1982), support and encouragement from the mother, teachers, and identification with one’s culture accounted for overcoming the barriers that Mexican American women face in a postsecondary setting. Anna had the support of her teacher and had positive identification with her American culture but lacked her mother’s encouragement and emotional support.