Does the representation of “Ugly” Betty challenge problematic stereotypes of femininity and image or does the show just swap one set of stereotypes for another?
My essay so far, I still have some more paragraphs to do but ermm let me know where i can improve on it 
Betty is a moderately complex character who is beginning to require that she is able to be herself and be accepted in settings in which being thin, white, rich, and untruthful typically has been essentials.
And yet shows such as ‘Ugly Betty’ have exemplified that women can be successful in the world of work. The likes of Betty Suarez can become a valuable asset, not just to the company but also to her co-workers, via the friendships she makes and forges along the way at Mode.
The idea that to be successful and to do well, one has to be physically attractive and appealing in the work place can be contradicted because Betty is an example of someone, who in spite of her appearances she gets down to work and concentrates on her job, irrespective of what other people may think of her. The other female characters on Ugly Betty- Hilda, Wilhelmina, and Alexis- in contrast are more attractive and appealing than Betty. “Ugly Betty” fractures the general opinions we have of women, “Whether it’s the Cinderella myth or the Ugly Duckling – that’s the quick way people are summing up the story, but if you watch, you realize that’s not it at all”.
Betty as we can see through every episode is a “camera ready woman”. Her character alone conveys that due to the pressure that women have an idealized concept of female beauty, women do no have to follow the “beauty myth”. Naomi Wolf argues that the “beauty myth” is political, way of maintaining the patriarchal system.
Feminism is a social movement, which has had an enormous impact on film theory. The media in representing myths and women as well and men and masculinity has used feminism. Early feminist criticism was expressed at the stereotypes of women, predominantly in Hollywood films. Historically, women have been discriminated against in the world of work but this has been changed. Fixed images were used for women and they were considered to be objectionable and female spectators would not have enjoyed the negative impact, by involving characters like Betty it disturbs this representation as the main character is not “attractive” and so makes the male viewers divert their attention to other aspects of the show. Alexis, who is also represented as a career woman, accompany Betty’s dominant roles. As she was a man before and then becomes a female relates to Freud’s theory, on one hand it could be going against his theory as Freud argues that females have penis envy, yet by Alexis getting castrated, this challenges this theory. However, Freud also argued that males feel anxiety as the female in their perspective is castrated, and therefore she needs a fetish object to get rid of the male audiences’ anxiety and in Alexis’s case, she dresses feminine and wears high heels. As she is very attractive, this relates to Mulvey’s idea of the “male gaze”. Amanda is the receptionist at Mode and is also subjected to the “male gaze” and her character is very conventional, as she is a receptionist, which is a negative representation as the low status job reflects patriarchy. Her character is stereotypical as she is shown to be a ditzy girl who is not very caring but is cunning and sly. Her character relates to feminism, as Alice Embree argued that women were seen as bodies, not people. As she is attractive and takes care of her appearance, from a feminist perspective, she is not liberated like Betty, as in order to obtain liberation “women must no longer be enslaved by ludicrous “beauty”. Amanda does not have an active role, as she does not drive the narrative forward. Unlike, Betty’s character has a more active role rather than a passive role. She is concerned much about her image and is viewed as a sex object as she is attractive. Amanda is nonetheless seen as inadequate, in comparison to Betty’s work and ability. We can see that as a viewer we are more interested in Betty’s character, not only does she carry herself as a powerful, dominant women, she is seen as the main source of income in her household and also breaks the standard stereotypes we have of women in the fashion world; her clothes are not stylish and up to date and her braces are revealed when she smiles, and not forgetting her frontal glasses. In saying this, Betty is represented as a typical geek, who is independent and challenges the idea of conventional beauty.
From a feminist light, Wolf quoted, “Beauty is a currency like the gold standard. Like any economy, it is determined by politics and in the modern age in the West, it is the last, best belief system that keeps male domination intact”. This statement is true as we are being concerned about our image means more consumption which results in greater profit for males reflecting our patriarchal society. A multi-billion-dollar global industry re-enforces us on this and revolves around appearance. Industries such as the cosmetic and fitness are all built on ideas of attractiveness. This also shows how image supports capitalism in the society we live in today.
