Intergenerational Mujerista Latinidad: a comparative media analysis of One Day at a Time and Jane the Virgin

ABSTRACT

Jane the Virgin (JTV) and One Day at a Time (ODAAT) are contemporary U.S. American shows that intervene in a traditional media landscape that has largely ignored Latinas/os/x and allow for a re-envisioning of Latina women as substantive characters. Both shows focus on three generations of Latinas and present a matriarchy of characters that expand our understanding of a mujerista Latinidad. In this essay, we analyze the intergenerational representations of these two series to illustrate how gender roles, sexuality, and the Latina body are portrayed through media messages that take up socially progressive themes in refreshing ways. Our analysis highlights a significant disruption of the conventional tropes that stereotype Latinas as maids, mothers, and housewives, deviating from the hypersexual and virginal dichotomy. Jointly, these two shows add new dimensions to televised depictions of Latinas; as such, our critique tracks the evolution of Latina tropes.

KEYWORDS:

• Latina/o/x media representation
• Mujerista Latinidad
• gender roles
• Jane the Virgin
• One Day at A Time

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 We use the term “progressive,” similarly to how it is invoked in the political domain, which is about working towards the goal of implementing social reform or liberal ideas. Within media, we refer to the value of social progress, while advancing under-represented voices in the mainstream.

2 We italicize mujerista Latinidad throughout our paper to align with Báez’s (2007) use of italics in her concept of Latinidades feministas.

3 Although the Villanuevas are portrayed as Venezuelan-American, the three lead actresses are Puerto Rican-American and Puerto Rican.

4 Although the Alvarez family is Cuban-American, the lead actresses are Puerto Rican-American, Puerto Rican, and Colombian-American.

5 One Day at a Time was cancelled from Netflix in early 2019; we opted not to include the episodes from the fourth and final season which were aired on POP TV network.

6 Alba’s dialogue is originally in Spanish.