"Set in a tiny sewing factory in East L.A., this is the outrageously funny story of five full-figured Mexican-American women who are racing to meet nearly impossible production deadlines in order to keep their tiny factory from going under. And while they work, hiding from the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), they talk ... about their husbands and lovers, their children, their dreams for the future. The story is told from the point of view of Ana, the youngest among them. Just graduated from high school, Ana dreams of getting out of the barrio and going off to college and becoming a famous writer. Although she needs the money, Ana doesn't like working at the factory and has little respect for the coworkers, who make fun of her ambitions and what they consider her idealistic feminist philosophies. However, Ana keeps coming to her job and chronicling her experiences in a journal. As the summer unfolds, she slowly gains an understanding and appreciation of the work and the women, eventually writing an essay that wins her a journalism fellowship which will take her to New York City. This play, a microcosm of the Latina immigrant experience, celebrates real women's bodies, the power of women, and the incredible bond that happens when women work together."--Publisher description.

"Real Women Have Curves explores the politics of beauty and the power women have when working together. Simply Maria or the American Dream deals with the struggle of a young Mexican girl to find her identity and stay true to her self and her dreams. Confessions of Women from East L.A. shatters stereotypes of Latina women by providing complex explorations into to the Latina experience. Food for the Dead is a satirical look at machismo while celebrating Mexican cultural traditions and sexual liberation. Unconquered Spirits explores the legend of "La Llorona" from a Chicana feminist perspective retelling the spiritual conquest of Mexico and celebrating the unbeatable spirit of the indigenous and Chicanos"-- Back cover.

Generational conflict is set off between the blossoming Ana, a Mexican-American teenager who has a chance to attend Columbia University on a scholarship, and her mother, Carmen, who is determined that Ana follow convention and go to work with her in a Los Angeles sweatshop.

Barash and Lipton discuss the theories scientists have advanced to explain evolutionary enigmas--from how women get their curves to why women menstruate--and present hypotheses of their own.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From award-winning actress and political activist America Ferrera comes a vibrant and varied collection of first-person accounts from prominent figures about the experience of growing up between cultures. America Ferrera has always felt wholly American, and yet, her identity is inextricably linked to her parents’ homeland and Honduran culture. Speaking Spanish at home, having Saturday-morning-salsa-dance-parties in the kitchen, and eating tamales alongside apple pie at Christmas never seemed at odds with her American identity. Still, she yearned to see that identity reflected in the larger American narrative. Now, in American Like Me, America invites thirty-one of her friends, peers, and heroes to share their stories about life between cultures. We know them as actors, comedians, athletes, politicians, artists, and writers. However, they are also immigrants, children or grandchildren of immigrants, indigenous people, or people who otherwise grew up with deep and personal connections to more than one culture. Each of them struggled to establish a sense of self, find belonging, and feel seen. And they call themselves American enthusiastically, reluctantly, or not at all. Ranging from the heartfelt to the hilarious, their stories shine a light on a quintessentially American experience and will appeal to anyone with a complicated relationship to family, culture, and growing up.