Real Women Have Curve Analysis

In Real Women Have Curves Ana’s romantic interest, Jimmy, in privileged in a way that is unavailable to Ana. Jimmy has a higher socioeconomic status than Ana and her family. While Ana has to walk and take several buses to get to the school each day and type her essays on an old computer, Jimmy has his own car and laptop. Ana is separated from Jimmy by her working class background, gender and latino heritage. Where Jimmy describes having been “handed everything” Ana is forced to work hard for the same resources, although they both attend the same elite school Ana is a student on scholarship and Jimmy’s parents appear to pay for his tuition. When Jimmy describes his plans for the future he converts the idea of having to earn his way, he explains

How people perceive their body can dramatically affect their self esteem, mental and physical health. During, adolescence, young people become more aware of how they look and can be made to feel inadequate if their appearance is different than their peers or diverges from the shapes toted by the media. A negative body image can cause unhealthy behavior or a poor self-image in teens. Self consciousness could prevent teens who are unhappy with their appearance from from trying new activities, pursuing their goals or wearing and eating what they want. In Real Women Have Curves the film’s protagonist, Ana , is pushed to conform to a thinner, less curvaceous body type by her mother and by the society as a whole, although she professes to have insecurities about her appearance throughout the film Ana is largely able to accept her body. By defying the expectation imposed on her physically Ana is able to choose her own identity and define her inner path. Although women and girl’s body image issues are largely what is focused on in Real Women Have Curves, in reality all genders struggle with self image. Men and boys, for example, are often expected to project a muscled, “masculine” appearance. Being slimmer or having excess weight is often seen as unattractive or

Real Women Have Curves and The House on Mango Street both center around a young Mexican-American girl growing up in a poor, largely Latino area in a major American city. The protagonists in the book and film, Ana and Esperanza, originally seek to leave their home for a better life and abandon the culture they were raised in. Although both Ana and Esperanza seem, or are able to, leave the area they were raised in for a home they desire they still carry their origins with them. The lessons both girls learned growing up in a Mexican-American society influence their actions and personality. Ana and Esperanza are both surrounded by a largely patriarchal society, however by rebelling against the cultural and gender norms that surround them and choosing to instead pursue an autonomous lifestyle they are better able to pursue a future away from the area they grew up in. In both Real Women Have Curves and The House on Mango Street, Ana and Esperanza take lessons from the “trapped” women around them to determine what they want to do differently to live independently of their culture. Their parents encouragement, or lack thereof, comes to either help or hinder them. In Real Women Have Curves for example, Ana only feels ready to leave her home life after her father gives her his blessing. However, when her mother refuses to support Ana’s rejection of a life close to home Ana has difficulty leaving for the airport. In today’s world young people like Ana and Esperanza still seek to