Beauty is in the Eye of the Telenovela
During our in-class lectures over the past few weeks, we have discussed the importance and emphasis that physical beauty and vanity plays in telenovela culture. Many women are portrayed as symbols of beauty and sexuality, with obvious curves and little clothing. I have seen this especially in my telenovela "Pasion de Gavilanes," because all of the female characters are deemed "attractive" due to their skinny waists and larger breast sizes. While these features generally are not natural or genetic, many female audience members find it necessary to embody and, in a sense, copy what is seen on the television. When we learned about this in class, I found it extremely interesting that plastic surgery is such a large part of Latin-American culture. What resonated with me the most about this, was the comment that Dr. A made about plastic surgery being as "common as getting braces in the United States."
In contrast, the United States believes that vanity and appearance have turned from the focal point of culture, to the thing we should care about the least. With the intense rise of social media, women and girls have been constantly comparing themselves to the models and celebrities that post photos and videos. However, the movement of female empowerment has been fierce recently, and many songs, articles, and posts have been made reminding females to "stop comparing" and "love themselves."
In telenovela culture, it is evident that women are supposed to simply look pretty and are very naive. The man does the work, the defending, and come home to his wife/girlfriend (who most often is beautiful with an immense amount of plastic surgery). However, in the US, the push for women's rights and social equality has been on the rise, and has yet to slow down. For example, the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show featured Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, both of Latin-American descent, and both expressing their beliefs that women rule the world. In the photo below, Jennifer Lopez stands atop the Empire State Building, and later explained that this symbolized women being "on top." I found this to be extremely interesting and conflictual with the stereotypical telenovela ideals.
This is so interesting! I loved the halftime show because I felt like it celebrated both the beauty and the amazing creative skills of Latin American women. They are both sexy AND capable. That is why it did not seem exploitive to me. Do you think it emphasized sensuality too much or that it balanced these traits well?
ReplyDeleteAlso! Do you think it posed an unrealistic standard of beauty and sexiness for women, or was it fair and authentic?
ReplyDeleteEs interesante que diga eso. Aunque ambas mujeres, Shakira y Jennifer Lopez son empoderadores y representan equalidad para las mujeres en todo mundo, los dos mujeres represtan una cuerpo y estándar de belleza poca realista. Ellas hacen ejercicio para muchas horas cada dia y tienen los maquilladores para cada actuación. Muchas chicas pueden pensar que estos cuerpos o la belleza de las mujeres es natural.
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