Outspoken or Opinionated
In the 21st century more women are breaking through their cultural and ethical values and becoming independent. Women of the present and future unlike the women of the past have their own thoughts, beliefs, and lifestyles despite what society believes. In the movie Real Women Have Curves the main character Ana, is a senior in high school and has her own goals to go to college. Ana has to overcome her mother's wishes to stay at home with the family and work in her sister's dress making shop. Should Ana stay by her family and do want her mother wishes or pursue her dream in life and go to college.
Carmen, Ana's mother has very traditional and religious beliefs for her family while Ana has modern beliefs and is more of an open-minded person. Although Ana seems to not care about what her mother thinks she actually respects her mother but wants to live her life for herself.
Carmen is a religious woman and in the movie. She has Saint Antonio; it is for Ana it serves a purpose to help Ana find a husband. The Saint Antonio is holding a baby who represents fertility because Carmen wants Ana to be married and have children. It is easy to see that her culture plays a role in the way she thinks women are supposed to carry themselves. Carmen tells Ana, "Don't eat the flan." She thinks that her daughter is supposed to be slim in order to attract a husband and that a man won't like women who are overweight. Despite her mothers request to not eat the flan she eats it anyway, not to make her mother mad but to show she doesn't care what her others think of her appearance. Carmen feels that Ana doesn't need to continue school any further that she needs to work with her family in her sister Estela's dress shop. Carmen tells her husband that she can teach Ana all she need to know, she can teach her to cook, sew and take care of her husband. Carmen like some traditional Hispanic women think that their only place is at home, taking care of the children, doing housework and tending to their husband.
Carmen is a very conservative Hispanic woman. She thinks woman should dress conservatively and be submissive. Ana, her sister, mother, and coworkers work in a hot warehouse making dresses for smaller women that will be sold to Bloomindales for three or four hundred dollars and are only getting paid eight-teen dollars for each dress. The employees hand make the dresses so everything is the best quality, and Estela does not want to have fans on because she doesn't want the dresses to get ruined. When Ana, Carmen, Estela and other coworkers are working the very hot dress shop Ana can no longer take the heat and starts to undress down to her underwear. Her mother demands that she put her clothes on while the others start to take their clothing off too. They are all large women and were hidden in their clothing ashamed of their bodies when Ana helps them realize that they should be proud of who they are and how they look. Ana on the other hand feels that there is more to a person than their looks. She show tells her boyfriend, "This is what I look like..", when she undresses in front of him. Ana was letting him know this is what I look like me for who I am.
Carmen strongly believes in saving a woman saving herself for marriage. Most women with traditional and religious beliefs believe that a woman should save herself for married in order to be "pure" for their husbands. When Carmen suspects Ana has lost her virginity to her boyfriend, Carmen calls her a slut. Ana responds and says she wants a man to want her for her mind and not what's in between her legs.
In the end Carmen has yet to realize that Ana in her own way is a hard worker and has her own beliefs. Ana unlike her mother who sewed the majority of her life and raised a family, Ana has too helped raised her family (especially her mother), and came from a poor neighborhood in East LA and went all the way to upscale school in Beverly Hills. She also helped Estela with the company and asks her father if Estela could borrow money for the month's rent, so she too does care about her family. Ana ultimately chooses her dream to go to school in New York rather than stay at home and work. Her mother locks herself in her room refusing to give Ana her blessing, and Ana leaves.
