A Fish Out of Water: New Articulations of U.S.–Latino Identity on Ugly Betty

Abstract

This essay examines representations of U.S.–Latino identity on the ABC television program Ugly Betty. The analysis argues that the show articulates a tension between ethnic “otherness” and cultural assimilation that symbolizes current negotiations of individual and collective identities among young, English-speaking Latinos in the United States. Furthermore, the essay argues that Ugly Betty symbolically endorses a new conceptualization of Latino identity in the United States. The conceptual framework of the analysis is the relationship between media representation and identity.

Keywords:

• Cultural Assimilation
• Ethnic Identity
• Latino Identity
• Media Representation
• Ugly Betty

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Guillermo Avila-Saavedra

Guillermo Avila-Saavedra (Ph.D., Temple University, 2008) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communications at Salem State College.