Xuxa: The Mega-Marketing of Gender, Race, and Modernity (Paperback)

~ Amelia Simpson (Author)
Key Phrases: beija flor, Baláo Mágico, nude posing, Xou da Xuxa, United States, Programmed Euphoria (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fascinating new book...[that] offers a lucid academic critique of Xuxa's persona." -- Entertainment Weekly

Product Description

Former Playboy centerfold and soft-porn movie actress Xuxa (SHOO-sha) emerged in the 1980s as Brazil's mass media megastar. Through her children's television show, which reaches millions of people in Latin America and the United States, this blond sex symbol has attained extraordinary cultural authority. Reaching far beyond younger audiences, Xuxa's show informs the culture at large about gender relations, racial democracy, and idealized beauty.

Backed by Brazil's TV Globo, the fourth-largest commercial network in the world, Xuxa has built an empire. Amelia Simoson's colorful portrayal is the first book to explore how Xuxa's representation of femininity, her privileging of a white ideal of beauty, and her promotional approach to culture perpetuate inequality on an unprecedented scale. Simpson's thoughtful analysis exposes the complicity of a mass audience eager to celebrate Xuxa's deeply compromised representations of gender, race, and modernity.

Xuxa also explores the meaning behind the myth—Xuxa's long-term relationship with Brazil's soccer idol, Pelé, and the near-worship of her atypical blond, blue-eyed appearance by Brazil's population. As the author examines Xuxa's suggestive style juxtaposed with juvenile entertainment, and the phenomenon of Xuxa-look-alike teenaged paquitas, she unfold the symbolic territory of blond sex symbols worldwide.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (August 11, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566391075
• ISBN-13: 978-1566391078
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,457,979 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Xuxa can not be blamed for all of Brazil's social problems., September 16, 1998

By A Customer

The book definately fills in some background information on Xuxa that most US fans do not have. However, the author has surprisingly little to say about Xuxa. Nearly every paragraph has a footnote referencing an article/interview written by someone else. This book is more of a collection of other people's comments and quotes about Xuxa (or from Xuxa) and her impact on Brazilian society. The book in many ways tries to link Xuxa with many social problems facing Brazil including: racisim, the class system, declining school attendance, illiteracy, teen pregnancy, bulimia, and the sexual exploitation of children. Wow, has she been busy! I think that Xuxa represents some "ideals" to the Brazilian society, but to almost blame her for the continuation of these problems seems a little much. I recommend the book for anyone wanting to learn more about Xuxa history (good and bad)and her rise to fame. This book is not for the average fan.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Puts the Xuxa phenomenon into perspective, May 29, 1996

By A Customer

Xuxa's syndicated show on American TV may have been a flop, but this scholarly book remains an interesting study of the Brazilian entertainer. Amelia Simpson interleaves biographical information with background material on the Brazilian entertainment industry, combined with a very insightful analysis of Xuxa's incredible fame among the impoverished populations of South America. At times the writing comes across a little bit like a thesis composed by an overly earnest grad student. This has, to some extent, the odd effect of legitimizing Xuxa's appeal as transcending that of a mere pop culture icon. If anybody was truly qualified to play Evita, it is Xuxa. She was, after all, born very close to the border of Argentina.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Xuxa is not to blame for Brazil's problems or the troubles of America's feminists, October 26, 2007

By	ROBERT SMITH (Irving, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Xuxa: The Mega-Marketing of Gender, Race, and Modernity (Hardcover)

Don't blame Xuxa for Brazil's problems. They are the result of American corporate fascism's take-over of the country. The screed of American feminist puritanism is a joke. They hate Xuxa because she loves children instead of aborting them.