Since its publication in 1987 in Chicana Creativity and Criticism: Charting New Frontiers in American Literature, Helena Maria Viramontes' short story “Miss Clairol” has provided outsiders with a look at Chicano culture, and also sparked criticism for the standards of beauty and femininity of all women, and especially women of color. "Miss Clairol" follows the brief day of Arlene and her daughter Champ story, the couple is walking through a K-Mart pondering what color to dye Arlene's hair and what makeup would go with a borrowed dress for Arlene's date later that evening. Arlene returns home and immediately begins the long process of preparing for her date, leaving Champ alone to have fun and prepare dinner. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While there isn't much action within the story, Viramontes allows readers to get inside the heads of both Champ and Arlene. In all, Champ is ten years old and has not yet reached puberty. Champ is a very imaginative child and seems to be baffled by her mother's beauty rituals and femininity, even though Arlene vows to teach her how to be pretty someday. On the other hand, when there is a dichotomy or duplicity between appearance and reality in Arlene's head, romance versus realism in Arlene's life. Arlene dreams of a better life for herself, apart from the “constrictions” of her economic status, her race, and her single motherhood. In fact, Arlene is so estranged from reality that she essentially ignores her children and lives in her own fantasy world. Through “Miss Clairol,” Viramontes explores multiple facets of femininity: beauty standards, puberty, whitewashed Eurocentric ideals, and even the patriarchal sexualization of women. The characters of Arlene and Champ illustrate the never-ending cycle for women who are and will be. always being stuck in the grip of patriarchy and the Eurocentric world. Throughout the text there are constant references to specific beauty products, alluding to the fact that in order for women to be beautiful in the whitewashed patriarchal society, they must wear literal masks of makeup and completely embrace beauty consumerism. industry, because they have almost no other choice. Almost at the first words of the piece, Champ begins with the discussion of his mother's different hair colors: "for the last few months she has been a platinum blonde 'Light Ash', before that a redhead Miss Clairol 'Flame', before that Champ couldn't not even able to identify the color, something between orange and brown, a "Sunny Bronze." The only way Champ knows the true color of his mother's hair is through her roots, which, like death, inevitably rise. to the truth” (Viramontes 1301). The “inevitable” rise to the “truth” is Arlene’s black roots “like death,” the roots of her culture as a Chicano woman, in which she kills or disguises herself essentially to whitewash herself to conform. more to American beauty standards. Here, hair color becomes an identity for Arlene, where she can become whoever she wants and try on different characters. Arlene uses hair dye both to attempt to fit into American beauty standards of beautiful women "Light Ash" blondes, both to literally "disguise" her roots, which also serve as cultural roots. By dying her hair, a ridiculously light shade of blonde, Arlene is literally killing her hair (the culture), with peroxide, which ultimately means that she aspires to identify more with American beauty standards, than with those of her culture Chicana.After deciding on a hair color, Arlene enlists Champ's help in choosing a nail color: "She finally settles on a blackish-purple color, Ripe Plum, which Champ thinks looks like the color of Frankenstein's nails" (1301 ). First, the color purple/black is repeated throughout the work, perhaps as an allusion to the old anecdote “beauty is pain”, or it could also be a nod to Arlene's past relationships and the physical and mental bruises they have left her. Secondly, the fact that Champ references the color of her mother's nails to Frankenstein implies that she is quite imaginative, yet naive at the same time. Also, Champ is not specific when she refers to Frankenstein, she could be talking about Doctor Victor Frankenstein who created the monster, or she could be referring to Frankenstein's monster. The analysis of this quote could go either way: either Arlene is Dr. Frankenstein and is about to shape a sexualized female monster, "whitewashed" by Champ once he comes of age, or Arlene is Frankenstein's monster: a construction stitched together parts of the Anglo-dominant culture. In “Tapestries of Space-Time: Urban and Institutional Spaces in Helena Maria Viramontes’s Short Fiction,” authors Gutierrez and Muhs argue that, “Viramontes carefully lists several brands: Aqua Net hairspray, Maybelline in the store, Jean Nat's bath crystals, and Calgon commercials that mimic Arlene's afternoon bath By providing such a detailed list, Viramontes parodies the cosmetics industry's relentless target marketing schemes” (Gutierrez and Muhs 126). ).Referencing all these different beauty products in such a short story highlights the fact that women are expected to accept this consumerist culture of the beauty industry shaped by patriarchy. Although not listed by specific names, the reader is overwhelmed from another excessive list of beauty products when Champ goes hunting for a hairpin, Champ: “goes into the steamy bathroom, checks the drawers. Brushes, curlers, locks of hair come out. He searches through bars of soap, combs, eye shadows, finds nothing; opens another drawer, dust, empty bottles of oil, manicure scissors, kotex, crumpled and botched dyeing instructions, finally some hairpins” (Viramontes 1302). This extensive list of beauty products is a nod to the ridiculous beauty standards placed on women by society. To be considered “beautiful” in the eyes of society, one must constantly alter and/or dye one's hair, and essentially add a mask of makeup to mask “ugly” natural features. For Champ, “although makeup and femininity seem foreign and strange to her, Champ realizes that her mother is not only attempting to sexualize herself, but, more specifically, is trying to conform to the white beauty standards that have dominated, and that they continue to manage. dominate American culture” (Guti?rrez and Muhs 125). Not only are beauty standards terrible for all women, but they are especially terrible for women of color in a whitewashed world, thus forcing them to have to accept an entry into the most difficult industry and essentially ignore their culture in order to feel beautiful in the eyes . of the male-dominated society. Although Arlene tends to be more romantic, she tries hard to sexualize herself to appear more pleasing to men, and thus attempts to conform to the dominant Eurocentric female beauty standards of the time. . Among the first descriptions of Arlene is when she is shopping at K-Mart with Champ, and she is “wearing a pink strapless top. Her stomach spills over her hip-hugging jeans. (Viramontes 1301). The color “pink” for a tube top screamsfemininity, because in America pink is culturally associated as an incredibly feminine color. Furthermore, the image of Arlene's stomach spilling over her jeans implies that they are too tight and constricting her feminine body. As Viramontes describes Arlene's dress, one can't help but compare it to that of a teenager. Arlene is desperately trying to be sexually attractive, even though her body doesn't fit into the perfect Eurocentric cultural construction of what beauty is, but because she desperately wants to conform she fits in pants two sizes too tight to the point where she can't fit. not even to bend down. The next significant sexualized detail that Viramontes provides to Arlene's readers is that "she has a tattoo of purple XXX on her finger like a ring" (1301). Significantly, the tattoo on Arlene's finger is a "purple XXX", the purple, which is a recurring color throughout the piece, alludes to the domestic violence Arlene has suffered from previous relationships with men and the bruises she has had to show. from failed unions. The "XXXs" are a common cultural symbol for adult content or pornography, and since they are wrapped around "her finger like a ring" this implies that Arlene is wedded to the obvious patriarchal construct of female sexuality. Another example that illustrates Arlene's uncomfortable conformity to feminine beauty is when Arlene slips into her friend Pancha's dress: the dress is made of chiffon, with an underlining of satin-like material, so that when Arlene tried it on for the first time and strutted, rippled sounds of elegance. The dress fits too tight. His fleshy arms tighten, his hips inhale and hold his breath, the seams do everything they can to contain the body. But Arlene doesn't care as long as it feels right. (1302). The dress "explains the sounds of elegance", implying that Arlene doesn't care if she feels uncomfortable, because in the dress she looks like money. But, once again, the garment is “too tight” and keeps her body constrained, essentially in the mold of attractive femininity. Appearance versus reality becomes an important theme throughout the piece. None of these clothes she is squeezing herself into leave her room to breathe, she is physically constrained by her clothes and is metaphorically constrained by the patriarchy. This quote is also a nod to Arlene's underclass, she doesn't have enough money to afford her own costume, but rather has to squeeze into her friend Pancha's dress to feel like she's rich and living the whitewashed American dream. But in reality, Arlene is a Chicana woman who will never be able to conform to Eurocentric notions of femininity. In his article “'Are You Talking About 'Merican?': Class, Value, and the Social Production of Difference in Helena Maria Viramontes' Under the Feet of Jesus,” Dennis Lopez argues that in “Chicano nationalist discourse, Chicanas can only occupy one position, either like the woman who renounces herself, the abnegad mother (suffering mother), the passive virgin, or the incarnation of female betrayal and sexual promiscuity” (Lopez). In “Miss Clairol,” Viramontes breaks this Chicana stereotype through the character of Arlene. Arlene is a struggling single mother, but she is not exclusively the “self-denying female” or “the embodiment of female betrayal and sexual promiscuity,” but rather she is just a woman who is doing the best she can. Although she is a mother, she breaks Chicana stereotypes. It is clear that Arlene has sexual needs and that she needs men to be happy, which in a way supersedes her care for her children. Overall, Arlene tries her best to live her best life, despite her inability to do so. perfectly compliant with,?