Towards aLatinidad Feminista: The Multiplicities of Latinidad and Feminism in Contemporary Cinema

This essay examines the multiplicities of Latinidad and feminism as portrayed in contemporary cinema. Using the films Selena (1997), Girlfight (2000), and Real Women Have Curves (2002 La Voo, G., Brown, E., and Cardoso, P., 2002. Real women have curves. United States: HBO Films; 2002, [Motion picture]. [Google Scholar]) as case studies, the author argues that these films mark a moment in U.S. cinematic history in which diverse and complex Latinidades feministas are represented. This representational analysis offers insight into how these films demonstrate the dynamics and intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class while challenging gendered and racialized notions of authenticity. Ultimately, the author contends that despite their status as popular commodified forms, these films embody a Latinidad feminista that transgresses historical representations of Latinas in U.S. cinema in offering Latina subjectivities that are hybrid, fluid, and complex.