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The title character played by America Ferrera in ABC’s hit series “Ugly Betty,” is a sartorially challenged Latina doing her best to make her way through the superficial world of high fashion.
But what Betty Suarez is not might be even more significant: She’s not a hot-blooded hoochie, or a floor-scrubbing maid, or a drug-pushing member of a gang. And unlike so many of her TV predecessors who share her ethnicity, she’s not relegated to the outer margins of her show.
All of which is an exciting development for young Latina fans, who embrace Betty as a positive role model and find thrilling the idea that they’re finally seeing a bit of themselves reflected in their TV screens.
“The fact that she’s not blonde-haired and blue-eyed is, by itself, very much a big deal,” says Melissa Camacho, a San Francisco State University professor who specializes in cultural studies and mass media. “We’ve been waiting a long time for a TV character who looks like her and has her voice.”
“Ugly Betty,” which last month captured Golden Globe awards for best comedy and best female comedic lead, has been lavishly praised for opening eyes to an alternative view of beauty. But many fans insist that it also deserves to be saluted for presenting a positive portrayal of a smart, ambitious Latina who integrates her culture into her social and business life.
Ferrera, a 22-year-old daughter of Honduran immigrants, touched hearts at the Golden Globes when she delivered an emotional speech in which she noted that she constantly receives letters from young women who say they draw hope and inspiration from her character. The following day, the actress was lauded on the floor of Congress, where Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., said she is “breaking down barriers” and providing a “role model for young Latinas.”
Clearly, “Ugly Betty” is sitting pretty.
“It’s one of the only shows on television where you can catch glimpses of Latin-American culture, and I really appreciate that,” says Alejandra Saragoza, a student at College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, Calif. “That’s important and not just for me. It’s good for people to experience other cultures, to broaden their views and give them an idea of how other people live.”
It’s also a very uplifting show, claims Camacho. “It holds a significant place in television history, because it has given us an empowering representation of young women at a time when it is really needed,” she says. “And at the end of the day, you realize she’s not so ugly and that you love her all the more because she’s nothing like Paris Hilton.”
“Ugly Betty” was inspired by a Colombian telenovela (“Yo Soy Betty, la fea”) that has enjoyed remarkable success in various forms the world over. So, in hindsight, it seems to be a no-brainer that Americans would fall in love with the bespectacled, bushy-browed and metal-mouthed woman who turns heads with her colorful Guadalajara poncho.
On the other hand, American television networks have rarely managed to present fully formed Hispanic characters who don’t adhere to some tired stereotype. Betty is the only Latina who anchors a major prime-time series.
“You see so very few portrayals to begin with and when you do, they tend to be monolithic in nature,” says Laura Donnelly, co-founder of Latinitas, an Austin, Texas-based organization focused on empowering Latina youth through media and technology. “It’s certainly OK to have Rosie the maid on `Will & Grace,’ but if that’s the only character you’re seeing, you just don’t get a full picture.”
In the series, Betty straddles two very different worlds. By day, she works in Manhattan as an assistant to the editor of Mode magazine, where her plain-Jane looks and lack of fashion sense make her the classic misfit. At night, she returns to her hectic but loving Queens home that she shares with her father (Tony Plano), sister (Ana Ortiz) and nephew (Mark Indelicato). Around the dinner table, they speak Spanish as well as English. For entertainment, they glom on to the latest telenovela.
“I like the fact that a group of Latinos can be held up by a major network as a reflection of the American family, even though it might be a little different,” Donnelly says. “You’re never going to see, for example, a Christmas dinner in `7th Heaven’ with enchiladas on the table. But that’s exactly what many Latinos are having.”
Saragoza says the domestic dynamic in “Ugly Betty” also hits home with her. “I can definitely relate to Betty in how she’s very family oriented,” she says. “They’re very close-knit. And in that way, the show is right on.”
Moraga, Calif., sisters Katie, 13, and Kim Garcia, 11, never miss an episode of “Ugly Betty.” They say they weren’t drawn to the show by the lead character’s ethnicity, but rather because it’s funny and interesting and the “fashions are cool.”
“Betty is the odd person out who has trouble fitting in, and I think everyone has experienced that at times,” Katie says. “I like her because she doesn’t compromise who she was and now is.”
“I guess we like it that she’s a Latina,” says Kim. “But it doesn’t really matter all that much because everyone is the same.”
And “Ugly Betty” seems to have something for just about everyone. The show averages 12.4 million viewers in a fiercely competitive Thursday-night time slot - numbers that rank it as the No. 2 new comedy of the season. According to ABC, nearly 850,000 Hispanics watch the show every week.
Donnelly, whose group offers after-school programs to girls of all ages, says discussion of “Ugly Betty” and its messages of self-esteem are highly encouraged.
Many of the girls, she points out, are first-generation Americans who can see themselves in Betty because of their similar struggle to fit into American culture.
“They feel like they don’t have a voice and they’ve been taught to be so polite, so docile,” she says. “So they love the fact that Betty is intelligent, speaks her mind and is aggressively chasing her dreams. And they’re absolutely blown away to see someone on TV who has their body type, their hair and their complexion.”
