Ethnic Studies

Author

Professor

Subject

Date

Real Women Have Curves

The 2002 independent drama movie entitled Real Women Have Curves revolves around the story of an 18-year old teenager named Ana who just graduated from high school and was planning to pursue college . Coming from a Mexican descent , Ana faced a lot of struggles both at home and from the society as people tend to judge her and gives stereotypical comments towards her . Her mother , for instance , would tend to address Ana 's large built , discouraging her from finding romance and

from making a difference . Moreover , the mere fact that Ana 's Latina makes it difficult for her to be accepted in the society and to be more than what people expects her to be . However , being an empowered woman , Ana struggled to overcome the challenges before her and worked hard to achieve her goal and come out of the constraints and status the society placed upon her . Ana 's quest of making a difference included issues like class , gender , and sexuality which challenged her perspectives in life

Class Status and Mexican Identity

Being part of the Latin American commu nity which is perceived to be a developing region and is still economically challenged , the main character of the story , together with her family and friends from the same community , are hindered by their low class status

Observing that Ana 's sister , Estela , manages a garments factory for Bloomingdales , it somehow depicts the class standing of Latin Americans who are basically skilled workers in labor-intensive industries involving a large labor force ( Labor Intensive Industry . Moreover as observed in the film , the finished garments distributed in Bloomingdales costs only around 18 a piece while the latter sells it for around 600 . The big discrepancy between the product bought from the factory and the product sold in the famous boutique shows how the society regards Mexicans to be of lesser significance and competence than those well-known stores . In addition to that , large-scale business entrepreneurs may also have a tendency to outsmart Mexican businesses because many of them are not well educated and only depends on their skills and craftsmanship for economic growth . As observed in the movie Ana 's mother Carmen , does not want her to pursue college and instead work at the factory with her sister to make the garment business more efficient . Carmen , as a traditional and old school ' Mexican gives premium to work and family more than anything in the world (Wood n .p

This class struggle have great implications to the identity Mexicans regard to themselves . Considering the perception that Mexicans are used to labor-intensive industries and the stereotype that they are skilled workers , many Latinas would tend to enhance such skill and focus on growing in a specific labor-related industry . This then limits Mexican individuals from expanding their range and exploring other great skills for their growth and development . Also , being observed as less educated and more appropriate for crafting , many Mexicans are discouraged from making a difference and...