1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456562603321

Autore

Molina-Guzmán Isabel

Titolo

Dangerous curves [[electronic resource] ] : Latina bodies in the media / / Isabel Molina-Guzmán

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : New York University Press, 2010

ISBN

0-8147-9606-0

0-8147-5954-8

1-4416-3823-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (266 p.)

Collana

Critical cultural communication

Disciplina

302.2308968/073

Soggetti

Hispanic American women in mass media

Popular culture - United States

Mass media and minorities - United States

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Saving Elián -- 2. Disciplining J.Lo: Booty Politics in Tabloid News -- 3. Becoming Frida -- 4. “Ugly” America Dreams the American Dream -- 5. Maid in Hollywood -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author

Sommario/riassunto

With images of Jennifer Lopez’s butt and America Ferrera’s smile saturating national and global culture, Latina bodies have become an ubiquitous presence. Dangerous Curves traces the visibility of the Latina body in the media and popular culture by analyzing a broad range of popular media including news, media gossip, movies, television news, and online audience discussions.Isabel Molina-Guzmán maps the ways in which the Latina body is gendered, sexualized, and racialized within the United States media using a series of fascinating case studies. The book examines tabloid headlines about Jennifer Lopez’s indomitable sexuality, the contested authenticity of Salma Hayek’s portrayal of Frida Kahlo in the movie Frida, and America Ferrera’s universally appealing yet racially sublimated Ugly Betty character. Dangerous Curves carves out a mediated terrain where these



racially ambiguous but ethnically marked feminine bodies sell everything from haute couture to tabloids.Through a careful examination of the cultural tensions embedded in the visibility of Latina bodies in United States media culture, Molina-Guzmán paints a nuanced portrait of the media’s role in shaping public knowledge about Latina identity and Latinidad, and the ways political and social forces shape media representations.