University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2018 Girl of Color-Power: Resisting the Neoliberal Girl Power Agent Raisa Fernanda Alvarado University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Mass Communication Commons, and the Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Alvarado, Raisa Fernanda, "Girl of Color-Power: Resisting the Neoliberal Girl Power Agent" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1421. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1421 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Girl of Color-Power: Resisting the Neoliberal Girl Power Agent __________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________ by Raisa Fernanda Alvarado June 2018 Advisor: Christina Foust ©Copyright by Raisa Fernanda Alvarado 2018 All Rights Reserved Author: Raisa Fernanda Alvarado Title: Girl of Color-Power: Resisting the Neoliberal Girl Power Agent Advisor: Christina Foust Degree Date: June 2018 Abstract Girl power is a complex and multi-dimensional phrase. It is a term that celebrates the positive development of girls’ self-esteem, while simultaneously recognizing the shifting social positioning of girlhood in the late twentieth century. It is a call to re-write girls’ passivity but simultaneously a discourse that encourages consumerism via entertainment, artifacts, and merchandise.