Core Post #5: J Lo / Selena

The article on J Lo’s butt was a fascinating read for me. I have always viewed J Lo as the star who leeched off Selena’s dying star, since that role seemed to launch her into stardom. I have always viewed J Lo as more of a singer than an actress, probably because I have been exposed to her music more than her films. The article discusses how the Puerto Rican butt, specifically a large one, represents the excess of Latinx culture. J Lo’s butt therefore serves as an event, in which her body becomes representative of Latinx communities at large. This is important both because this reveals a lot about the consumption of the brown body, but also is interesting because it is important that this is not a black body. In general, J Lo capitalized on the fact that the media was fascinated with her behind. While this can be seen as self-exploitation, it seems to be more of a strategy based on knowledge of the consumption of her image. The article mentioned the rear as a site in which Latina women could reclaim their beauty, which also happens to co-exist with their exploitation. The dynamic between the two can be seen in Selena’s image. One interesting thing in the article was the mentioning of Selena’s obsession with her plastic surgeon who helped maintain her figure, since this is something I did not know about. This says something about the limited pathways in which brown bodies are launched into stardom. I can’t help but challenge how much progress has been made in this front. There still are only a handful of popular Latinx stars, one of them being Jennifer Lopez herself.  A hyper-focus on the physicality of brown bodies seems to hint that there value is not in their talent, their music, their acting, their products but rather just their body. This maintains power dynamics while simultaneously enjoying these bodies.