The central theme of the 2002 film Real Women Have Curves is Ana’s ambition to attend college after completing high school. Ana comes from a background of traditional first-generation Mexican-Americans.
Ana, a bright young female, is ensnared by Mexican tradition. She possesses the potential to enroll at Columbia University, which is a renowned institution in New York City. However, doing so would require her to partially relinquish cultural tradition and defy her family’s expectations of providing for her parents by working, finding a spouse, and becoming a mother. In addition, Ana grapples with the challenges of American society and her mother’s disparagement and condemnation of her body shape as a curvier woman.
Reflecting the many battles of Latino women in society, Ana triumphs over her challenges and realizes that being a woman encompasses more than meeting cultural expectations, adhering to family norms, embracing her sexuality, or conforming to societal ideals of beauty. Ana’s journey includes overcoming obstacles in pursuit of her educational aspirations while navigating the conflicting demands of Mexican tradition and her mother’s desires. In an early scene, Ana defies her mother, Carmen, who manipulates her daughter by using her illness to guilt-trip her into staying home on the final day of high school and preparing breakfast for the male members of the family.
According to Mexican tradition, Ana’s mother expects her to take care of the children, maintain a clean house, cook meals, and handle other domestic chores. However, Ana prioritizes her education over these expectations. She believes that her education is vital and more important than living up to what her mother and the men in her household anticipate. In addition, Ana desires a college education and does not want to conform to the conventional role of a Mexican daughter who solely supports her parents financially through work. Her English teacher, Mr. Guzman, encourages her to apply to Columbia University and even visits her during her graduation celebration to motivate her further. Nonetheless, Ana’s parents disapprove of Mr. Guzman’s involvement, claiming that they currently need their daughter to work at her sister’s dress factory.
Although Ana’s father supports her pursuing a college education, her mother Carmen opposes the idea. She believes that academic schooling will not benefit her daughter because she can teach her other valuable skills at home, such as sewing, child-rearing, and being a supportive wife. Carmen’s resistance stems from how Mexican tradition has enslaved and conformed her to societal expectations, which she now wants to pass on to her daughters. According to this tradition, Dona Carmen’s ultimate goal is to marry off her daughters at a young age, ensuring they are fully equipped to take care of their husbands and fulfill their needs.
Donna Carmen informs her friend about the reason behind removing her older daughter’s San Antonio figurine, known for aiding in finding a spouse and starting a family. She acknowledges that it is now too late for Estela to marry and emphasizes the importance of prioritizing Ana. As per Carla Trujillo from Film in American Popular Culture, numerous Chicanas believe that being linked to a man is crucial for their female identity. In the Chicano community, it is believed that women achieve fullness only when they become mothers.
Many Chicanas are taught that their primary role in life is to raise children. Ana challenges this belief after overhearing her mother gossip about a former seamstress who was abandoned by her husband for engaging in premarital sex. She criticizes Dona Carmen for linking pregnancy with “knowing too much,” as Ana’s husband expects her to be a virgin. Ana questions the importance placed on a woman’s virginity, defending her own refusal to conform.
Despite having thoughts, ideas, and a mind of her own, a woman is met with confusion from her mother due to the fact that her country does not support such perspectives. In Mexican tradition, she is taught to comply with her husband’s desires, even if it means sacrificing her own thoughts, ideas, and individuality. An immense challenge Ana encounters is defying the traditional Mexican expectation of staying united with her family.
MexInsider states that Mexican culture is characterized by the close-knit family structure, with children commonly residing with their parents until marriage, regardless of their age. Consequently, Dona Carmen, conforming to these cultural norms, anticipates her daughter to follow suit. Nevertheless, Ana disrespects her mother’s values as she anticipates her own daughter to adhere to them.
The strained relationship between Dona Carmen and Ana is a result of Dona Carmen’s envy towards her daughter. Dona Carmen is envious of Ana’s youth and resents her desire to break away from tradition. When Ana’s English teacher, Mr. Guzman, visits their home to inform Ana about her full scholarship to Columbia University in New York, Dona Carmen tries to hold Ana back. She emphasizes the importance of family and even manipulates the relationship between Ana and her abuelo to make Ana feel guilty about leaving for college.
As time passes, Ana realizes that being a Mexican-American woman involves more than adhering to her culture and family’s traditional expectations. To pursue her own dreams and find happiness, she must defy her parents’ wishes.
In Latino cultures, a woman’s level of respectability is often determined by her sexual purity. Ana’s virginity becomes a matter of fascination when Jimmy, a Caucasian classmate from her English class, starts showing interest in her.
During the summer, after a long period of sneaking out, Ana and Jimmy’s relationship begins to escalate physically. Determined to lose her virginity to him, Ana purchases condoms. As they undress, Ana decides to reveal her nude self to Jimmy, exclaiming, “Look, this is my true appearance.” In response, he lovingly remarks, “You look beautiful,” words that Ana longed to hear from her own mother, who consistently belittled her for being overweight.
The following morning, Ana, after showering, kisses her reflection in the mirror and observes her naked body through her bathrobe. At this moment, Dona Carmen enters the room and expresses her anger, calling Ana a tramp and accusing her of losing her virginity. Dona Carmen also insults Ana’s weight, referring to her as a whore and questioning why she didn’t value herself. In response, Ana declares that there is more to her than just her genitals. She realizes that as a woman, it is not about adhering to societal expectations or preserving virginity, but about being true to oneself. In traditional Latino cultures, a curvaceous body is highly valued until it becomes too heavy to be considered attractive.
Throughout the film, Ana faces her mother’s constant insults about her larger body size. Her mother even gives her a nickname, “gordita” (fatty), and advises her coworkers to avoid gaining weight like Ana. She consistently discourages Ana from trying to lose weight. Dona Carmen’s main worry is that Ana’s weight will hinder her chances of finding a suitable partner.
During a date with Jimmy, a boy from school, he admires her and comments, “You have a beautiful face.” Ana, however, reacts negatively and asks, “Just my face?” This interaction highlights the negative influence that her mother, Mexican culture, and American society have had on her self-perception, making her feel inadequate as a woman. Eventually, the courageous protagonist recognizes the significance of self-love after enduring relentless criticism and decides to defy societal expectations.
Despite Mexican tradition’s attempts to belittle Ana for her body shape, she comes to understand that a woman’s worth goes beyond her weight. One of the film’s most empowering moments is when Ana urges all the women working in the factory to shed their clothes due to the oppressive heat, regardless of their appearance. Ana takes the lead and undresses first, although her mother tries to intervene to spare her daughter from embarrassment.
Dona Carmen advises her daughters to lose weight in order to be beautiful, emphasizing the importance of external appearance. Ana defends herself and her sister by pointing out that their mother looks just like them. However, Dona Carmen dismisses this by saying she is married. Frustrated and tired of her mother’s negativity, Ana expresses her desire to lose weight but also acknowledges a part of her resists it. She believes that her weight defies societal expectations and refuses to let anyone dictate how she should look or who she should be as there is more to her beyond her weight.
Ana escapes the oppressive surroundings that surround her, indicating that her true identity goes beyond her external image. She comprehends that a man who solely appreciates her for her physical attractiveness is not what she desires; instead, she longs for someone who will appreciate her for her authentic self. The Latin-American community frequently encounters the challenge of assimilating into American society while also maintaining their Latino cultural heritage.
The main character in Real Women Have Curves, Ana, faces various challenges in her life and encounters constant criticism from her mother. Not only does Ana’s mother criticize her efforts to pursue education, but she also disapproves of her body size. According to Ana’s mother, losing weight is necessary for Ana to be considered beautiful enough to follow the Mexican tradition of finding a spouse, getting married, and having children. Instead of valuing academic learning, Ana’s mother focuses on teaching household skills. In defiance of traditional Mexican norms, Ana rebels because she refuses to settle for anything less than what she believes she can achieve. She desires to have independent thoughts and ideas, receive an education, and learn how to truly love herself.
As time goes on, Ana realizes that her worth extends beyond her looks and societal standards. She discovers that she might have to defy her parents’ wishes to follow her own dreams, even if it means facing disapproval from both her Latino and American background.
Works Cited
- “Body Image And the American Popular Culture Landscape The Shifting Identity of Young Latinas in Real Women Have Curves. ” Film in American Popular Culture. June 2005. 11 May 2010. lt; http://www. americanpopularculture. com/archive/film/young_latinas. htm>
- “Cultural Issues for Women. ” Mexican Women’s Issues. 11 May 2010. <http://www. stolaf. edu/courses/ws399/ws399_03/Projects/sarafin%20resea rch/mexican. html>
- “Mexico Family and Traditions. ” MEXinsider. 11 May 2010. < http://www. mexinsider. com/mexico-family-and-traditions. html>
- Rosenblum, Shari L. “Real Women Have Curves. ” CineScene. 2002. 11 May 2010. < http://www. cinescene. com/shari/curves. htm>
