Women experiencing the hardships of life in and out of the sweatshop they work in. Kinda drags on but interesting.

I was able to have Josefina Lopez as a Proffesor for one of my Chicano Studies classes. She was vibrant full of energy and most importantly full of Chicana pride.

She is literally a story of triumph. A Latina who grew up in a confusing and ever changing environment. She broke out of the mold that her traditional family set on her and has written many plays and has even acquired her masters from UCLA. She began writing plays when she was about 16 or 18 I believe. When we began to read her book entitled "Real Women Have Curves" we imagined ourselves being persecuted by immigration and we placed ourselves in the shoes of the characters. This is a story that is loosely based on her. It is a story that is directed more to the Latino/a population. It's a book in which many situations are found to be hilarious only because they are easy to relate with and so profoundly "REAL." Perhaps, this is why some people find her book to be a "drag" and it's because you must be able to relate and associate yourself with the situations.

It is a book that touches upon diseases such as Anorexia and Bulimia. These are destructive diseases which affect the majority of the youth. The book sends out the clear universal message that "REAL Women Have Curves" and that we are all strong women that come in different shapes and sizes. We must empower ourselves with knowledge and love. We must not hate our bodies or try to hide it. We should not conform to what society and the media says we should look like. All women do not fit into a size "4 or 6." Her messages are quite clear and can easily enpower the latino/a youth.

This is an excellent book that should be read out loud and acted out with friends. Her plays are even hilarious! Please look for them and make it a point to attend. As for her new movie I haven't seen it, but I recommend the play it is live action and it is incredible.

"Real Women Have Curves" is the most popularly produced work of "Super Chingona" (say that with attitude!) Josefina Lopez. She wrote the sitcom-like play when she was only 19 years old. The play is bilingual, and much of the humor is encoded in Spanish. "Real Women" is part of the playwright's still growing body of work that explodes against the stereotyping and oppression of Chicanas by socio-psychological forces from within and outside the culture. (Check out my biography on Lopez in CHICANO WRITERS, 3rd SER. [DICTIONARY OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHY, VOL. 209].)

As part of their 1990-1992 tour of the play, El Teatro de la Esperanza presented "Real Women" at Univ. of Calif., San Diego, on April 23, 1992, which is the production I saw (with an annoyingly shrill lead actress). The play takes place in a cramped sewing factory. Pink lace is draped all over the set. Above the door is a sign that exclaims "Se prohibe chismear!" (No gossiping!). Five women race the clock to fill an order for 100 pink evening dresses. The dresses resemble something a ballerina might wear. One of the play's high points is when the comfortably plump women pull on much larger versions of the dresses they are making (the style stops at size 11/12); with deliberately ungraceful movements they mock ballet and its Western elitist promotion of skeletal thinness as part of ideal feminine beauty. This is a play you have to see to fully appreciate.

Good for school instruction about diversity inUSA