Publication Type: Session Paper
Abstract: Representations of the Latina body are increasingly visible in contemporary mainstream popular culture in the U.S. Historically, these depictions have been uni-dimensional relegating Latina actresses to perform mostly spitfires, maids, and self-sacrificing mothers. These representations usually adhere to a very specific construction of an “authentic” Latina body—curvy, but still thin and marked as sexually available. This paper charts a shift in the construction of the Latina body in U.S. mainstream popular culture and explores how Latinas interpret these changing discourses of their bodies. In particular, it considers how Latina audiences make sense of these ruptures, namely a departure from a thin and hypersexualized body, by examining their reception of actress America Ferrera, star of the network television series Ugly Betty. This paper suggests that Latina audiences read representations of Ferrera’s body simultaneously through identification, (dis)identification, frustration, and pleasure.

Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: This paper seeks to understand the relationships Latinas, living in the United States, have with dominant American culture in contrast to Latino culture, how they internalize the standards of beauty in each, and the way in which these factors influence their level of self-esteem. Through in-depth interviews, I find that access to an alternative model of beauty allows the Latinas interviewed in my study to develop a high level of self-esteem which leads to the conclusion that access to alternative models of beauty that are consistently reinforced will lead to a higher level of self-esteem.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper describes and discusses perceptions of body image and sexuality in a qualitative sample of White (non-Latina) (n=28) and Latina (non-White) (n=25) breast cancer survivors who are five years since their diagnosis. The results highlights the complexity and the processes by which breast cancer survivors redefine and negotiate their body image, femininity, and sexuality after breast cancer.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that “fat talk”—conversations about eating, exercise, and appearance (Nichter & Vuckovic, 1994)—is prevalent and harmful to college women. Self-derogatory comments about weight and shape have received the most focus in research of fat talk in college women (Britton, Martz, Bazzini, Curtin, & LeaShomb 2006; Gapinski, Brownell, & LaFrance, 2003; Stice, Maxfield & Wells, 2003). It is unknown, however, how fat talk about other people’s appearances affects the body image of college women who are exposed to such conversations, including college women who identify as Latina or Latina-American. Although Latina and Latina-American college women often have been neglected in previous studies of body image, this population might be particularly vulnerable to fat talk about other people’s appearances given the collectivist characteristics of Latino cultures (Freeberg & Stein, 1996; Gaines et al., 1997; Matsumoto, Weissman, Preston, Brown, & Kupperbush, 1997), as well as how fat talk appears to establish peer-group norms (Nichter & Vuckovic, 1994). The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary findings of a study in progress designed to uncover the effects of exposure to peers’ compliments or criticisms of other women’s appearances on the body image of Latina and Latina-American college women. Participants will be randomly assigned to “overhear” a recording of two confederate’s positive evaluation of thin models, negative evaluation of thin models, or a neutral conversation with no fat talk. It is hypothesized that participants who hear the positive evaluations subsequently will report more body dissatisfaction than will participants who hear the negative evaluations or the neutral conversation. It is further hypothesized that participants who hear the negative evaluations will report lower levels of fat talk than participants who hear the neutral conversation. This research contributes to the small body of literature about the body image of Latina and Latina-American college women in addition to important questions about the potentially damaging effects of what appear to be common conversations among undergraduates.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript