Core Post #5 - KC Chow

In the same vein as Zendaya’s recent statement on her self-awareness about colorism: in “Jennifer’s Butt,” author Frances Negron-Muntaner essentially says that Jennifer Lopez is Hollywood’s acceptable version of a Latina.

Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammy's

Unlike other famous Puerto Rican actresses like Rosie Perez, Lopez isn’t as ethnic looking according to the masses due to her medium skin tone that doesn’t veer to either extreme. Because of this, Negron-Muntaner notes that American media doesn’t habituate to tag her as “Latina actress Jennifer Lopez”; instead, they identify her as a “New York or Bronx native” (183). Though I understood Jennifer Lopez to be less Latina looking than her counterparts, I was unaware that it was to the extent of the aforementioned point. As I used to read tabloid magazines regularly, the one thing that always stood out to me was the fact that white celebs would always be characterized from where they’re from (ie. Vancouver-native Ryan Reynolds), while any star who wasn’t white would have their names preceded by their race (ie. Asian-American Constance Wu, African-American Viola Davis).

Despite her facial features, Negron-Muntaner explains that Lopez’s curvaceous body (more specifically, her butt) has made the public view Lopez as more Latina. With this, it’s something that Lopez doesn’t shy away from speaking about in public as she likes to accentuate it because it’s such a moneymaker for her. It’s funny because when I think of J Lo’s most famous moments (apart from her film roles), all of the moments that come to mind are related to her body for better or worse (ie. her infamous green Versace dress she wore to the Grammy’s or when Jeremy Renner commented on her “globes” right next to her).

From Left: Eva Longoria, Sofia Vergara,
Salma Hayek, and Eiza Gonzalez

Another interesting point that Negron-Muntaner brings up about Lopez is the fact that she is Hollywood’s highest-paid Latina actress, which correlates to her proud exhibition of her body (187). When I think about naming Latina actresses on the top of my head, all of them (in way or another) have roles where their curvy bodies are put on display constantly. Think: Sofia Vergara on Modern Family, Eva Longoria on Desperate Housewives, Salma Hayek in any movie (particularly, From Dusk Til Dawn). Even in a more recent movie Baby Driver, Latina actress Eiza Gonzalez (who was the only Latina in the film) was constantly blocked so that her body was on display (though not in skimpy outfits) – with Gonzalez either draping herself over Jon Hamm’s character, solely sitting on the table, or sitting seductively with her head over shoulder.