Popular media has seized this duality. The space under the skirt becomes a narrative device: a hidden cell phone in a period drama, a concealed knife in a revenge thriller, or simply the intimate whispering ground of gossip that fuels a comedy.

The traditional telenovela relied on the "hidden child" or the "secret illness"—tropes that usually revolved around male shame or female sacrifice. Today’s telenovelas have updated the formula. The new wave, spearheaded by productions from Telemundo and TV Azteca, uses bajo sus polleras to explore female sexuality and economic empowerment without judgment.

: It is sometimes used in political satire to suggest that a public figure is being "protected" or hidden by a powerful entity (e.g., being "under the skirts" of a leader).

One popular format: a woman in a long, flowing skirt is asked, “What do you really carry under there?” The camera cuts to absurdist reveals—a full Thanksgiving turkey, a vacuum cleaner, a charging laptop, a pet rabbit. The humor lies in the contrast between the feminine exterior and the practical, chaotic, or powerful interior. These videos are direct digital descendants of the soldadera myth: the skirt as Mary Poppins’ bag.