Belt worn by Naya Rivera as Santana Lopez on Glee
name: label: wearer
content: Rivera, Naya
label: maker
content: Eyrich, Lou
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Belt worn by Naya Rivera in the role of Santana Lopez on the television series Glee. The black fabric sash-style belt was worn around the waist of an aqua blue dress. The female members of the New Directions glee club wore these outfits to the regional competition in "Original Song," episode sixteen of the second series of the season, which aired March 15, 2011.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Glee was an American comedy-musical-drama television series created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan. The series, which originally aired on Fox from 2009 to 2015, told the story of The New Directions, a glee club comprised of a diverse group of students at the fictional McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. Episodes chronicled the group’s journey to success in show choir competition while navigating interpersonal conflicts, overcoming the challenges of high school life, and grappling with issues of identity. Over the course of six seasons, Glee became a popular hit, especially among preteen and teen fans who referred to themselves as “Gleeks”. The show received generally positive reviews from critics, especially for its deliberate and sensitive treatment of issues of identity, race, sexuality, and bullying. Cast recordings of popular songs performed on the show sold millions of copies around the world, especially as digital singles, and inspired karaoke and home video game releases as well. The series won numerous awards including the Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, multiple Emmy Awards for individual performances, and a Peabody Award in 2009.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) was one of the many LGBTQ+ characters critics celebrated for representing a complex and true picture of adolescent queer sexuality. Santana is a cheerleader known by peers for her harsh comebacks and confident sexuality but is revealed to be a closeted lesbian who struggles with accepting herself. By season three, Santana learns to proudly own her sexuality and her relationship to Brittany (Heather Morris). However, she must overcome the challenge of coming out to her family. Santana is Latina and comes from a very religious background. When Santana came out to her family, her grandmother disowned her and only accepted Santana back into her life in the final season. Santana’s struggles with her sexuality highlight intersectionality, and her journey to coming out shows how race, religion, and sexuality can all effect one’s life.
label: Description (Brief)
content: This costume was worn during season two episode 16, “Original Song.” During the episode, many of the characters are forced to seek out, acknowledge, and express personal pain through song writing. Through the creation and performance of their “original songs,” at Regionals, various characters convey their private feelings to each other and audience members. With their song “Loser Like Me,” which was written in response to the bullying behavior of Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester, the New Directions win the competition, demonstrating their resistance against inferior treatment.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Television
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2022.0009.01.02
label: accession number
content: 2022.0009
label: catalog number
content: 2022.0009.01.02
objectType: label: Object Name
content: belt
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: fabric (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 84 in x 2 1/2 in; 213.36 cm x 6.35 cm