El cartel de los sapos I y Alias el mexicano: ¿empoderamiento de los personajes femeninos?

Abstract

Objectives: to identify the women stereotypes represented in Colombian narcoseries and their relationship with the transmission of empowerment messages of the Millennium Development Third Goal (Decision making autonomy, Physical Autonomy and Economic Autonomy), which seeks to generate gender equality and to empower women.

Methodology: two high-rating narco-series were taken as a sample: "The Snitch Cartel I" and "Alias The Mexican", broadcasted by the private Colombian channels Caracol and RCN, respectively. Content analysis was applied to this material; the female characters were selected and classified according to their occupation and characteristics in each autonomy (decision making, physical autonomy and economic autonomy).

Results: in the narco-series "The Snitch Cartel I", most of the women appear with "no occupation", they are mainly relatives of drug traffickers and there is no notorious prototype of beauty. In "Alias the Mexican", young and old women are used as "mules" or human couriers as well as being condemned and intimidated.

Conclusions: colombian narco-series are audiovisual narratives lacking any message of women’s autonomy or empowerment, in their feminine roles which are incorporated into series’ plots.