The place of intersectionality in U.S. TV series: the new generation of Latina characters representation 2/3

Who doesn’t want to see themselves represented on TV while growing up? The influence of representation in the media plays a crucial role in the perception of oneself and others. While the Latinx^[1]Latinx is a word used in the United States by the Latin American immigrant community, immigrating to the United States, to describe themselves in a more gendered way (Latino being used to refer to … Continue readingcommunity represents the largest racial minority in the United States, it is almost non-existent on our screens in terms of main characters. When they are portrayed, characters are mostly riddled with negative stereotypes. However, some US series from the 2000s challenge these portrayals by offering new narratives that celebrate the diversity of the Latinx community. This article, which is part of a dossier on the representation of intersectionality^[2]Intersectionality is a term developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. It defines the experience and identity of any individual at the intersection of several social categories (gender, race, class, … Continue readingin contemporary US television, looks at two series that stood out for their innovative representations of Latina^[3]Latina is a term that defines women of Latin American descent who have immigrated to the United States for one or more generations. This term will be used when discussing the female characters.characters.

The lack of representation of Latina characters on our screens

There is a great disparity between reality and media representations of racial, gender, and sexual minorities^[4]Lysiane Colin, “The Place of Intersectionality in American TV Series: Diversity in the World of Shondaland 1/2”, Gender Institute in Geopolitics, 24 June 2021, https://igg-geo.org/?p=3662.. In terms of Latinx visibility, they make up only 3-4% of the characters on US prime time television^[5]Caroline Grell, ‘The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin’, Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, vol.8, no.1, 2017, p.35.. However, the Latinx community makes up more than 16% of the US population, making them the largest racial minority group in the country^[6]Ibid.. While 30 programmes are chosen each year by major US television networks, in 2018, only 10 of those aired featured a Latinx character in a lead role^[7]Nicole Acevedo, “TV shows struggle to reflect U.S. Latino presence. Will it get better?”, May 24, 2019, NBC News, … Continue reading.

Although the number of Latinx characters has increased since the early 2000s, the world of television is still far from reality. Filmmakers must continue to create series that feature Latinx characters at the centre of their narrative and the public must continue to demand that these programmes remain on screen. Felix Sanchez, co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, says that ‘’it is everyone’s responsibility, from consumers to big business, to close the gap’’^[8]Caroline Grell, ‘The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin’, Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, vol.8, no.1, 2017, p.35..

Media representation is fundamental in the construction of the individual. It enables us to see ourselves and envision the possibilities open to us, even if it is fiction. It opens our eyes and allows us to dream and to project ourselves into a world of possibilities. It should be noted that representations influence the audience that views them and can also change the perceptions that individuals have of a group of people. The media is not just about entertainment, it perpetuates and/or challenges pre-existing perceptions of the audience^[9]Op. cit. Caroline Grell, “The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin”. p.36.. The Latinx community is increasingly aware of their lack of representation on television and the impact this has on their perception of themselves and others^[10]Op. cit. Nicole Acevedo, “TV shows struggle to reflect U.S. Latino presence. Will it get better?. The fact that they are always criminalised or subordinated leads people to think that there is no other way out; the hypersexualisation of Latina women leads people to think that all women in this community are perceived in this way in reality, without trying to see them beyond this stereotype constructed by the media.

The negative stereotypes attached to the Latinx community in US TV shows

The Latinx community suffers from a biased and negative representation that does not represent the reality in which they live. Within the 3-4% of their television representation, just 11% of Latinx characters are in the upper echelons of the social scale^[11]Op. cit. Caroline Grell, ‘The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin’, p.35.. The most recurring misconceptions and stereotypes are those of the criminal^[12]Police shows of the 2000s have an impressive rate of Latino characters – predominantly male roles – in incarcerated characters, or perpetrators of illegal acts., the Latin lover^[13]The character of a Latin Lover is represented by a suave, seductive, handsome, sexy Latino man who melts women and is very ‘masculine’ in his features and behaviour., the hypersexualised woman^[14]The stereotype of the hypersexualised woman is notably represented through the character of Gabrielle in Desperate Housewives (2004-2012), played by Eva Longoria. She is not only a sexual object for … Continue reading, the comic relief^[15]For example the character of Gloria in Modern Family (2009-2020), played by Sofia Vergara. Even though she represents one of the first Latina portrayals on television and is evolving into a more … Continue reading, the working man^[16]Jennifer Lopez’s role in Maid in Manhattan (2003) is an example of this type of stereotype. Jennifer Lopez plays Marisa, a young woman who works as a maid in a New York hotel. Although she is … Continue reading, etc.^[17]Gwen Aviles, “The Impact Of ‘Jane The Virgin’ Cannot Be Overstated”, 28 September 2020, HuffPost, … Continue reading According to a 2014 study, one third of Latinx character appearances are related to “illegal activities”, 44.7% of characters are not credited in the credits or have no name, and since 1996, Latina women have played 69% of domestic roles^[18]Op. cit. Nicole Acevedo, “TV shows struggle to reflect U.S. Latino presence. Will it get better?.  

These stereotypical roles paint a universal picture, as if the community were uniform: a group of non-English speaking people from illegal immigrantion^[19]Op. cit. Caroline Grell, “The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin”, p.36..

In order to limit these negative depictions, a significant number of Latinx actors, directors, and writers are striving for better representation on television. They demand an authentic portrayal of their community and support series with positive representations to show that these portrayals have a place in today’s television^[20]Op. cit. Nicole Acevedo, “TV shows struggle to reflect U.S. Latino presence. Will it get better?. Through positive representation, the public’s perception changes for the better, shifting away from biased views and allowing discriminated minorities to identify in a positive way. Jane the Virgin‘s actress Gina Rodriguez emphasises this need for positive representations, saying, “I know how much it affected me that I never saw positive role models with my skin colour. So I decided to use my art to change that and to play positive character roles that would allow people to see themselves differently.^[21]Op. cit. Caroline Grell, “The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin”, p.36.”

To this end, some series reappropriate stereotypes to create a more nuanced image, while others innovate to offer new, diverse and authentic representations. In order to understand how these two perspectives are disseminated on television, this article looks back at two series that have marked American television for their representations of a Latina main character: Ugly Betty and Jane the Virgin. But how did these series offer new possibilities for Latina representation in 2000s US television?

Ugly Betty: the beginning of the positive representation of Latina women

Ugly Betty is a US series created by Silvio Horta, which aired on ABC from 2006 to 2010 and is based on the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea^[22]Op. cit. Caroline Grell, “The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin”, p.37.. It is one of the first programmes to feature a Latinx family at the centre of its narrative. The main character, played by America Ferrerra, defies Latina stereotypes: Betty Suarez is a young woman from a working class background who has just graduated from university and is embarking on a professional career in a fashion magazine.

Her character represents a revolution in the type of women portrayed on television at that time^[23]Gwen Aviles, “‘Ugly Betty’ Gave Television An Unlikely Latina Heroine”, HuffPost, December 1, 2020, … Continue reading. Her work ethic, rather than her style, earns her the respect of her colleagues. This portrayal of the female body is reminiscent of the body positivity movement^[24]Body positivity is a movement that advocates the acceptance of all female bodies as they are. It was created in the United States in 1996 by Connie Sobczak and Elizabeth Scott and has gained … Continue readingthat has developed since 2012: the celebration of female bodies as they are, their diversity and intersectional differences, and the questioning of traditional beauty standards.

Betty’s character is ‘Americanised’: she was born in the United States, speaks perfect English (and not a word of Spanish), is embedded in American culture and works in a white professional environment. However, she finds herself in an in-between position: her origins do not allow her to be fully accepted in her work environment, but she is too “Americanised” to feel at home in her parents’ country of origin^[25]Op. cit. Caroline Grell, ‘The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin’, p.43.. This duality allows for a multicultural, complex and multidimensional Latina character.

The series celebrates the empowerment of a Latina woman through her inner journey, her professional aspirations and her growing self-confidence. Betty offers an alternative version of success, defying the physical stereotypes of women, taking control of her future and finding success through her friends, family, and work^[26]Caroline Grell, « The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin », Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, vol.8, n°1, 2017, p.35.. The series also introduces multi-dimensional characters through Betty’s family. Her father Ignacio, her sister Hilda and her nephew Justin help to show the diversity of the Latinx community and offer portraits through which the community can identify.

Ugly Betty remains anchored in its time: the cast is only partially Latinx, the world in which the protagonist progresses remains white and the representation of Latina women is polarised; either “Americanised” through Betty, or partially stereotyped via the character of Hilda, who unlike Betty, represents more traditional female beauty standards, did not attend college because she became pregnant in high school, and although she has her own business – a beauty salon – her narrative revolves mostly around love stories.

Nonetheless, one can see Ugly Betty as a first step in the direction of a positive and diverse representation of Latina characters.

Jane the Virgin: towards multitudinal representation of Latina women

Jane the Virgin is adapted from a Venezuelan telenovela of the same name, created by Perla Farías^[27]Perla Farías is a Venezuelan screenwriter and producer.. The US series is developed by Jennie Snyder Urman^[28]Jennie Snyder Urman is a US-based writer and producer.and aired on the channel CW from 2014 to 2019. Jane the Virgin is the first programme on the channel to feature a predominantly Latinx cast^[29]Ibid, p.35.. The show not only makes the Latinx community visible, but makes it its dominant point of view through a myriad of characters, both female and male, from different backgrounds and classes, demonstrating the complexity and variety of Latinx culture^[30]Diana Martinez, ” Jane the Virgin Proves Diversity Is More Than Skin Deep “, The Atlantic, 19 octobre 2015, … Continue reading. The series also incorporates cultural references, notably through the use of the telenovela format in the narrative construction (twists, love triangles, magical realism, etc.) and within the narrative (as a binding element in the family of Jane, the main character played by Gina Rodriguez), in order to celebrate and acknowledge the culture^[31]Paola Brembilla et Lucia Tralli, ” ‘With 22 episodes a year’ Searching for Quality in US Network Television : the Cases of The Good Wife, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Jane the Virgin … Continue reading.

The narrative of Jane The Virgin revolves around three female characters: Jane, her mother Xiomoara and her grandmother, Alba. The series uses the theme of family to represent different types of Latina characters^[32]Juan Piñón, ” Jane the Virgin. The Pursuit of New Latina/o Representations “, automne 2017, ReVista Harvard Review of Latin America, p.23-24, URL : … Continue reading. Initially, the portrayals of Alba and Xiomara are archetypes that lock the characters in a dual  and opposing vision, regarding the two ways of seeing the Latina. Alba is a woman who has fled her Latin American homeland to start a family in the United States, but who has never forgotten the values of her country: she is Catholic and has a religious vision of sexuality and marriage, which refers to the myth of “the virgin and the whore »^[33]Caroline Grell, « The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin », Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, vol.8, n°1, 2017, p.35.. In contrast, her daughter, Xiomara, represents a woman who is closer to the stereotype of the sexualised Latina, and who became pregnant at a young age. However, these characters become more complex as the episodes progress: Alba discovers love and sexuality once again, and Xiomara becomes financially and professionally emancipated and takes ownership of her body and her choices. As for Jane, she is in between: she has learned the Catholic precepts from her grandmother, especially concerning sex before marriage, but also emulates her mother in other ways, a nuanced view of sexuality^[34]Ibid.. Over the course of the seasons, Jane develops her own views, creating new possibilities for who she is as a Latina woman – through her career and love life in particular.

These three representations allow for a rethinking of the perception of a Latina woman from a social, cultural, and linguistic perspective^[35]Ibid.. Jane the Virgin demonstrates that these portraits can exist within the same narrative and highlights the complexity of each instead of the impossibility of dialogue^[36]Op. cit. Diana Martinez, ” Jane the Virgin Proves Diversity Is More Than Skin Deep “..

Sexuality and motherhood play a central role in the series. The three women talk openly about it among themselves, a novelty on the small screen. Even if their opinions differ (on the issue of abortion or premarital sex for example), the visibility of these themes belies the perception that the Latinx community perceives these topics as taboo^[37]Denicia Sam Cadena, ” Opinion : ‘Jane the Virgin’ Abortion Storyline a Nuanced Latinx Portrayal “, NBC News, 27 octobre 2016, … Continue reading. According to a 2016 study on women’s reproductive rights in the Latinx community, 83% of respondents said that they respect a woman’s choice, whatever it may be, and 77% said that they would support that choice^[38]Caroline Grell, « The Fight for Equality: The Role of Latino Stereotypes in Jane the Virgin », Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, vol.8, n°1, 2017, p.35.. This is reflected in Jane the Virgin, where discussions on the subject are nuanced and reflect the reality on the ground, making Jane the Virgin an innovative series.

As for the character of Jane, she represents a new form of Latina character: a woman combining her family, love life, and work. Like Betty Suarez, Jane follows her dream and makes it her profession, learning to form her own identity based on her choices. As the seasons progress, Jane emancipates herself from her family in order to follow her own path, while remaining close to them, which allows us to see a multitude of Latina characters in their complexity and evolution.

Conclusion: what does the future hold for Latina characters?

Ugly Betty and Jane the Virgin are two shows that challenge the stereotypes commonly used to define the Latinx community. They draw on these negative stereotypes to challenge them and show that Latina characters are more complex and nuanced than what has been previously broadcast. Betty Suarez stands out because of her atypical physique and the professionalism she puts into her job. Jane Villanueva, through her relationship with her mother and grandmother, is a novelty of Latina representation, allowing her, at the end of the series, to have a family and professional life as she decides. They allow the Latinx community to be portrayed positively and to see the opportunities that are available to them. Both actresses, America Ferrerra and Gina Rodriguez, are also part of the Fiercely Latina group (along with Eva Longoria and Rosario Dawson), a group of Latina women in Hollywood fighting for a greater representation of Latinx both in front of and behind the cameras of the small and big screens^[39]Geraldine Cols Azócar, « Proud to be Latinx and represent: ‘One Day at a Time’s’ Isabella Gomez », NBC News, 21 septembre 2018, … Continue reading.

All the same, these two portrayals are familiar. Jane the Virgin is predominantly heteronormative, and remains fairly traditional in its portrayal of love. Ugly Betty presents a Latinx family in a very white world, with the main character being ‘Americanised’. It would be interesting to look at these and other Latinx series through the issue of sexual orientation. Do these representations continue to challenge stereotypes? Do they make one characteristic invisible in order to highlight another? Do they propose new representations of Latina identity? The next article will analyse a few series that introduce lesbian and bisexual Latina characters in order to continue the analysis of intersectionality in contemporary American series.