Real Women Have Curves Essay

As individuals, we are all given assigned aspects that define us. Race, gender, and social class are just a few of the characteristics that make us who we are. We also choose to take on certain aspects that reflect our own interests such as careers, fashion, and fandom. When our chosen and assigned aspects come together, our own identity is formed. These parts eventually impact and affect each other with the idea of intersection. The interconnection of being a woman and belonging to a certain career cross and act on each other in ways that are mostly negative. Many women find being successful in their careers very difficult especially women who are based into a male dominated industry.

Common stereotypes about women in the Mexican-American culture include that women are uneducated, good housewives, and very fertile. Many parents still believe it’s the woman’s job to stay home and be the homemaker. The concept of gender, which is socially constructed, is reinforced since birth. (Sociology Lecture 08/24/2015) Ana was caught in the middle of gender politics. Her mother oppressed her daughter so she can become a grandmother. The film “Real Women Have Curves” deals with gender stereotypes and struggles of poor women living in East LA. Carmen was trying to have Ana chained to the notion of women being inferior to men. Carmen believed men to be superior, whereas Ana thought differently. However Ana strived to liberate herself from traditional cultural norms by pursuing her college education. Her mother’s negative influence only caused Ana to rebel.

Ana even goes as far as telling her mother “Why is a women’s virginity the only thing that matters? I have thoughts, feelings, and opinions.” (Real) her mother looks at her weird. On the other hand there is Ana’s teacher Mr. Guzman, who sees the benefits from sending Ana to college and leaver her dirty old neighborhood. Mr. Guzman helps Ana out by pulling some strings at Colombia University. He also tells her to apply for scholarships, but when she doesn’t he shows up at her house. When she did get into Colombia University the first person to tell her was Mr. Guzman. Ana’s mother does not support Ana leaving for college and leaving the family. Even on the day does leave, her mom doesn’t even say goodbye to her own daughter.

For instance, the protagonist of the play Ana, conquers the subject of gender roles, sexuality, and body image throughout the play. As a newly high school graduate who has been forced to work in the garment industry by her mother in order to help her sister Estela’s struggling business. A resentment starts to grow in Ana for wanting more opportunities and an education. Ana states in her writings, “It is selfish for me to not want to wake up every morning at 6:30 a.m., Saturdays included, to come work for 67 dollars a week?”(pg.10) With Ana’s carefree and headstrong demeanor she is constantly clashing with her mother on what she believes is right. Dona Carmen on the other hand is where much of these misogynistic ideals are stemmed from coming from a background and culture that has taught her to be submissive and never say no.

Although men and women have significant biological differences, the question whether gender-specific labels stems from these biological differences or are gender constructed remains a polarised nature versus nurture debate. Whether it is through the process of socialisation or genetic make-up, “gender identity” is given from a person’s birth, determining how a person culturally interacts and the expectations society places on them. Along with a “gender identity” comes a whole set of “norms”, “values” and so-called “gender characteristics”, which are supposed to define the differences between a male and a female. According to the World Health Organisation (n.d.), the term “sex” is often used to define the biological and physiological

She has a talent for storytelling.” Carmen’s motivation is seeing her daughters succeed and be happy in life. She gets there by helping her daughters with whatever like she helped Estela make some of the 100 dresses and she helped Ana by letting her go across the state to a great university at the end of the play. Therefore, she was a strong mother for letting them be free and she was there all along to support them with anything because she didn’t want to be in the way of her daughters’ fantasy. Another character is Ana. She is “18, plump and pretty, sister of Estela, daughter of Carmen. She is a recent high school graduate and a young feminist.” Ana’s motivation is becoming a writer. Ever since her high school year, she had a journal to write in so, when she becomes famous she will publish it and will be her autobiography of her accomplishing her dream. She gets there by getting a typewriter for a contest and she will save up money to go to a University. However, she is one hell of a great sister because whenever she leaves the house, she comes back to help her Estela with her

Gender is one of the most heated terms in the English language during the 21st century, whose role seems to be constantly changing, always on the move, reflecting new updated meanings for society. Gender roles often portray the fairness and justice of any given society, hence the more equality genders reach, the more advanced and sophisticated the society is considered to be. They also suggest a set of rules that males and females have to follow and play their parts in order to define genders. However, the ambiguity of society’s confinement, like an invisible hand around everybody’s neck, draws attention to the artificiality of what we define as “acceptable” behaviors.

Rocio has dealt with patriarchy in her family, discrimination, and trying to break out of the norms for Mexican American woman. She says despite there being obstacles and expectations to fulfill when being Chicana, you just have to learn to balance both cultures and live the best of both worlds. I feel lucky to be Chicana because I live my life as a proud American with Mexican roots. Rocio grew up listening to Madonna and Vicente Fernandez. Although she was born here, she has not forgotten to speak spanish. She speaks spanish at home to her children. Thats something I think is very important; being able to communicate with your grandmother or older relatives that only speak spanish. Living in the U.S. it’s easy to lose your Mexican roots, especially because a lot of families now days are very “whitewashed”. Embracing both sides is very important. Many Chicanos grow up with parents who speak only english to them, so they completely forget how to speak spanish. After interviewing Rocio, I’ve seen her views on what it is to be a Chicana. I, myself could relate to certain things she was telling me. I’ve experienced some discriminative comments similar to the ones she's gotten. And, I too have a father who isn’t very open minded. It’s not to that extent of her husbands, but I do know what it feels like living with a very machismo type of father. Talking to her made me realize how important it is to embrace both sides. I can see why she thinks

Another interesting statement I would like to bring to the surface is Alvarez writes in her book that “boys are born men but girls turn into women” (72). This made me think of the BBC YouTube clip we watched in class. Within this video a mother, father, and daughter are getting prepared for their daughters sweet fifteen. One of the first things I recognized in this film was that the father a male was speaking about and for the females when they were in the same room as them listening to what he had to say. This is a problem in itself as the male voices his and silences the women, in addition, he is speaking on a subject that he does not even fully understand, women. For arguments sake a women would never speak about a man and what it means to be one. This power dynamic within this family is troubling and shows the dominance of one gender over

The choices a person makes based on gender can affect how other people are treated. Louie’s girl cousin, Marin is always stuck in her house “gotta babysit with Louie’s sisters”(Cisneros,23). Here Marin is constantly being in the house babysitting her cousins. Louies mother chooses to treat Marin like a housewife, staying in the house and taking care of the kids, because of this many people try to treat her as a docile housewife. Angel Vargas was a young man who wanted someone to care for him, but instead “nobody looked up not once the day Angel Vargas learned to fly and

Clearly, society has been created around two separate classes or genders: men and women. Lorber argues that much of what we consider to be gender has no place in the natural order of the things. She is able

“The social construction of gender comes out of the general school of thought entitled social constructionism. Social constructionism proposes that everything people "know" or see as "reality" is partially, if not entirely, socially situated. To say that something is socially constructed does not mitigate the power of the concept. These basic theories of social constructionism can be applied to any issue of study pertaining to human life, including gender. This is

The way society is taught to be socialized is salient and goes unnoticed, therefore it is valid to claim that gender is socially constructed through our everyday practices, whether we are aware of the construction or not. With socialization beginning the instant a child is born, the process is continuous through out adolescence and varies dramatically across the two genders. With guidance from institutions and arenas such as education, sports, music and the mass media gender seems to be coerced, as it comes with a scripted set of behaviors and attitudes. This essay argues that gender is socially constructed on an everyday basis. To further explain this thesis the essay will draw on early childhood socialization of masculinity and femininity,

The textbook identifies four approaches to gender development: biological, interpersonal, cultural, and critical. Define each theory. Then answer the following question: which of the theoretical approaches to gender do you find the most valid? Be sure to include at least two examples from your own experience as well as two scholarly sources to back up your claim.

Society has clearly defined boundaries between what is considered to be male or female. The development of an individual’s gender role is formed by interactions with those in close proximity. Society constantly tells us how we should look, act and live based on gender. Family, friends and the media have a tremendous impact on how these roles are formed and the expected behavior of each gender role.