Dangerous Curves

Isabel Molina-Guzmán is Professor of Communications and Latina/o Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She serves as co-editor of the journal Feminist Media Studies, and is the author of more than two dozen academic articles and two books, including Latinas/Latinos on Television (2018) and Dangerous Curves: Latina Bodies in the Media (2010). Her research expertise on Latinas/Latinos, gender, race, ethnicity and communication has been featured at the 2016 White House Conference on Women and Girls of Color, New York Times, and National Public Radio among other outlets.

• Acknowledgments Introduction: Mapping the Place of Latinas in the U.S. Media 1 Saving Elian: Cubana Motherhood, Latina Immigration, and the Nation 2 Disciplining J.Lo: Booty Politics in Tabloid News 3 Becoming Frida: Latinidad and the Production of Latina Authenticity 4 "Ugly" America Dreams the American Dream 5 Maid in Hollywood: Producing Latina Labor in an Anti-immigration Imaginary Conclusion: An Epilogue for Dangerous Curves Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

This compelling study examines the visibility and marketability of Latina actors and characters in tabloids, blogs, telenovelas, movies, and music... [Molina-Guzman] argues that deviation from prescribed images unsettles mainstream viewers, whose notions of identity/sexuality reject foreign or exotic representations. (Choice) Dangerous Curves is an absolutely essential, central, and most insightful component of Latina/o media studies. Molina-Guzman brings together structural, labor, textual, and audience elements to provide a nuanced analysis whose influence will span across communication, media, and Latina/o studies. - Angharad N. Valdivia,University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Dangerous Curves is an unswerving look at the flattening out of Latina lives in mainstream media narratives. A must read for anyone interested in understanding why and under what conditions the slightest tear of a stereotype can be perceived as disruptive of the social fabric. - Frances Negron-Muntaner,author of Boricua Pop: Puerto Ricans and the Latinization of American Culture Dangerous Curves remains an engaging and compelling examination of the conflicting demands placed on Latina bodies in the popular imagination. - Magdalena L. Barrera, Camino Real