What it is to be Colombian

"Usted eres la mujer mas hermosa, mi amor. Si no fuera por lo que le falta un poco mas de busto, usted seria la reina de la cuidad." 

- Capitulo 2: Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso 

Direct translation?

"You are the most beautiful woman, my love. If it wasn't for you lacking some bust, you would be the queen of the city." 

- Episode 2: Without Breasts, There is No Paradise

     I decided I would like to do my project on the way Latinas, specifically Colombians,  are portrayed in the media, specifically on how they are hyper-sexualized and seen as sexually aggressive women. Latinas to aspire to become that representation and that desire to be something that only serves a man’s interest results in a warped way of life where they put their own interests to the side with or without them realizing. 

     Latina celebrities common in the media like Sofia Vergara and Shakira set up a level of sexiness and attitude that is so appealing, it makes Colombians in general feel like we have to aspire to be like them to truly fulfill the notorious Colombian ideal, which is a slender but curvaceous women with big boobs and butt, long black or brown hair, and olive-toned skin. 

     It makes the majority of Colombian women obsesses with getting breast or butt augmentations. There have been Novelas, such as Sin Senos Noy Hay Paraiso, adapted from books, based on real stories about a girl's struggle in Colombia with affording implants, and the lengths they would go through to get them.

Clip from episode 5 of Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso

The series Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso
is based on investigative journalist
Gustavo Bolivar's debut novel,
Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso.

The text in the picture translated says:
"Catalina never imagined that
the prosperity and happiness of girls
in her generation would be
conditioned by the size
of their bras."

     We are shown that sexual appeal as an empowerment for women it, but that sexual interpretation of power is merely a smoke screen for how debilitating it is to our potential as humans. We all have the same potential, but we are, as Latinas, assigned a meaningless role in the media to give pleasure visually, audibly, and directly.

     Another stereotype that goes hand in hand with the way we are hyper- sexualized is aggression. That aggression or feistiness is what is called the Latin fire, which is also the reason our culture is associated with the color red most of the time. Red is synonymous with passion, whether it be sexual or emotional, it’s the way we are colored. Colombia has a long history of violence that it has become famous for with its drug trafficking and drug lords, such as Pablo Escobar.

     Those stereotypes are so damaging to our value because girls my age end up not giving the slightest thought to their education, career, or living up to their full potential. They care about curling their hair, how many likes they get on Instagram, and how to get their crush to fall in love with them, things that really don’t get them anywhere. And for the Colombians who don’t live up to the physical expectations? Shame on us! Or at least, that’s what the media makes us feel inevitably because if we don’t fit that ideal, then we aren’t beautiful. What about the Afro-Latinas? They become invisible. And we have the natural emotion of anger, but it has to be the right one, which is sexually aggressive and turns men on.