Stereotypes in Sin senos si hay paraíso

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While talking about representation and sexuality in class today, I thought a lot about what I was seeing in my own telenovela. Sin senos si hay paraíso has been super entertaining so far, but I can definitely see where stereotypes of gender, skin color, and sexuality fall in. 

Starting with the most obvious one, the representation of men and women in this telenovela are sometimes very stereotypical. Some of the biggest characters in the show contribute to this. Yésica is characterized as a "she-devil" who is obsessed with money, power, and looks. Her conventionally attractive looks and big breasts allow her to get anything she wants, no matter what. She rubs this off on her daughter, Daniela, who is obsessed with the delivery boy Hernán, and is on a mission to have him for herself. Daniela takes on the stereotypical role of a spoiled little girl who is boy-crazy. One example is when she whines to her mom that she isn't pretty enough for Hernán, so Yésica allows her to get plastic surgery on her face and body. 


The use of this "spoiled brat" stereotype is over-the-top, but it works well as a contrast against Catalina and her family, who are also conventionally attractive, but considerably more down-to-earth. 

So far in this telenovela, there are not many characters with darker skin. Even the more "poor" characters, such as Hernán, are still light in color. Whether this was intentional or not, almost all of the major characters have similar skin tones. The telenovela was produced by Fox TeleColombia, and after hearing about how Colombia has been slow to understand and fix racism, it is no surprise that there is a lack of diversity in the cast.


Finally, sexuality plays a huge stereotypical role in Sin senos si hay paraíso. As with majority of telenovelas, the main love story is heterosexual. In this case, Catalina and Hernán are the perfect straight couple. Catalina is an innocent virgin who stays home, while Hernán works all day and is the macho boyfriend. They inevitably get broken apart when they get sent to separate prisons. This is where we see another sexuality portrayed, lesbian. Catalina's cellmate is lesbian, and tortures her several times throughout the season. She even goes so far as to rape her in one terrible scene. The contrast between lesbians and straights that this telenovela shows is a damaging one. When you have a show that focuses on how great heterosexual relationships are, it can come off as homophobic to show homosexuality as something evil and perverse. 


After talking about representation and sexuality in class today, I really started noticing more things in my telenovela that are stereotypical. Some are good for the plot, such as the relationship between Catalina and Daniela, but others are very damaging to society, such as the lack of diversity and portrayal of homosexuality. I hope that as I watch more, some of these poor stereotypes get corrected.



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