MIAMI UNIVERSITY the Graduate School Certificate for Approving The

MIAMI UNIVERSITY the Graduate School Certificate for Approving The

MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the dissertation of Jennifer M. Bondy Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Philosophy __________________________________ (Director) Dr. Lisa Weems _________________________________ (Reader) Dr. Sally Lloyd _________________________________ (Reader) Dr. Kathleen Knight-Abowitz __________________________________ (Reader) Dr. Richard Quantz __________________________________ Graduate School Representative Dr. Yu-Fang Cho ABSTRACT LATINA YOUTHS TALK BACK ON “CITIZENSHIP” AND BEING “LATINA:” A FEMINIST TRANSNATIONAL CULTURAL STUDIES ANALYSIS by Jennifer M. Bondy This dissertation is a feminist transnational cultural studies analysis of the discursive and material conditions of middle-class Latina youths‟ identity and citizenship formations. It is part of a growing body of scholarship in the fields of educational research and girlhood studies that explores citizenship as a White cultural formation which influences the lives of racialized girls. Drawing from the theoretical perspectives of feminist transnationalism and cultural citizenship, this dissertation analyzes interviews, participant produced cultural productions, and U.S. visas and citizenship to explore the dual processes of how middle-class Latina youths who live in South Florida are made into and engage in self-making practices of “citizenship” and being “Latina.” There are four emergent themes in this study: (i) neoliberalism as the dominant discourse through which Latina youths are made into “American citizens;” (ii) stereotypical images and discourses on the “chonga,” “immigrant,” and “essential” identity as ways that Latina youths are made into “Latinas;” (iii) flexible citizenship and dissenting citizenship as Latina youths‟ self- making strategies of citizenship; and (iv) education and cultural pride as Latina youths‟ self- making strategies of being “Latina.” Findings indicate that while middle-class Latina youths‟ in South Florida are cognizant of dominant discourses on American citizenship and popular culture representations of young Latina women, they are also, and not necessarily in unproblematic ways, co-discursive participants in the construction of images of American citizenship and Latinas. LATINA YOUTHS TALK BACK ON “CITIZENSHIP” AND BEING “LATINA:” A FEMINIST TRANSNATIONAL CULTURAL STUDIES ANALYSIS A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Educational Leadership by Jennifer M. Bondy Miami University Oxford, OH 2011 Dissertation Director: Dr. Lisa Weems © Jennifer M. Bondy 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures……………………………………………………………………….. viii Dedication…………………………………………………………………………… ix Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………… x Chapters 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………… .. 1 Introduction………………………………………………………… . 1 Rationale and Significance of the Study…………………………….. 2 Research Questions………………………………………………….. 5 Terminology………………………………………………………….. 5 First-, Second-, and Third-Generation……………………….. 5 Discourse……………………………………………………... 6 Discursive and Material Conditions…………………………. 6 Culture……………………………………………………….. 7 Citizenship…………………………………………………… 9 Latina………………………………………………………... 9 Race…………………………………………………………. 12 Agency……………………………………………………….. 13 Positioning Myself as a Researcher………………………………....... 13 Organization of the Dissertation……………………………………… 16 2. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework……………………………… 17 Introduction…………………………………………………………... 17 On Girls‟ Identity Formations: “Girl Power” and “Reviving Ophelia”.. 18 Shifting Frameworks for Conceptualizing Girls‟ Identity Formations…………………………….. 20 Cultural Citizenship…………………………………………………… 24 A Critical Review of Current Research on Adolescent Latinas………. 29 “Being-Made:” English-Language Proficiency and Accent….. 29 iii “Self-Making:” Popular Culture and (Re)Constructing Belonging……………………………………………... 31 Theoretical Framework………………………………………………... 32 Feminist Transnationalism……………………………………... 33 The Contrasts between International and Transnational Feminisms……………………………………………… 34 A Latina Transnational Feminist Framework………………….. 36 Cultural/Material……………………………………….. 36 Social Structures and the State………………………… 38 Linkages across Cultural Contexts…………………….. 41 Empirical Research on Lived Experiences…………….. 42 Conclusion…………………………………………………………….. 44 3. Methodology………………………………………………………………….. 46 Introduction…………………………………………………………… 46 Philosophical Issues in Social Sciences……………………………….. 46 Methods of Empirical Research………………………………………... 48 Sites…………………………………………………………….. 49 Negotiating Access……………………………………………... 50 Participant Selection……………………………………………. 51 Methods of Data Collection…………………………………….. 53 Questionnaires…………………………………………... 54 Interviews……………………………………………….. 54 Texts (or Artifacts): Who I Am Collages and U.S. Visas and Citizenship……………… 57 Who I Am Collage……………………………….. 57 U.S. Visas and Citizenship……………………… 58 Data Analysis……………………………………………. 58 Discourse Analysis………………………………. 59 Guidelines for Data Analysis…………………….. 61 Ethics and Reflexivity……………………………………………. 63 Reciprocity……………………………………………….. 64 iv Reflexivity………………………………………………. 64 A Participant and Her Mother‟s Request for Greater Self Disclosure………………….. 65 My Own Desires to Gain Legitimacy and Trust With Participants………………………… 66 Language and Power…………………………….. 67 Validity/Trustworthiness………………………………………………… 69 Conclusion……………………………………………………………….. 71 4. Data Analysis: Talking Back on “Citizenship” and Being “Latina:” Emergent Themes.……………………………………………………… 72 Introduction……………………………………………………………. 72 Portraits of Participants………………………………………………… 73 Anastasia Diana………………………………………………… 73 Emma……………………………………………………………. 74 Scarlett………………………………………………………….. 75 Gabriela………………………………………………………… 76 Laura……………………………………………………………. 76 Viviana…………………………………………………………. 77 Lucia…………………………………………………………… 78 Carolina………………………………………………………… 78 Portraits Discussed……………………………………………… 79 Being-Made into “American Citizens:” Neoliberalism and the American .. Dream…………………………………………………… 79 Neoliberalism and the American Dream………………………… 79 Being-Made into “Latinas:” Stereotypes and Essentializing Identity…… 95 Stereotypes: Chongas and Immigrants…………………………… 96 Essentializing Identity: Place of Birth and the Spanish Language.. 101 Talking Back on “American Citizenship:” Flexible Citizenship and Dissenting Citizenship…………………………………… 105 Flexible Citizenship………………………………………………. 106 Dissenting Citizenship……………………………………………. 116 v Talking Back on Being “Latina:” Contesting and Complying with Gendered, Racialized, and Sexualized Imageries and an… Essential Identity……………………………………….. 121 Contesting and Complying with Gendered, Racialized, and Sexualized Imageries……………………………………. 121 Contesting and Complying with an Essential Identity…………. 127 Conclusion………………………………………………………………. 130 5. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………. 133 Introduction…………………………………………………………….. 133 Broader Social and Economic Conditions of Immigration……………… 133 Limitations………………………………………………………………. 136 Implications……………………………………………………………… 138 Theoretical……………………..………………………………… 138 Methodological………………………………………………….. 140 Educational……………………………………………………… 142 Conclusion………………………………………………………………. 144 Appendices Appendix A: IRB Application…………………………………………………… 145 Appendix B: Recruitment Email to Educational Leaders……………………….. 157 Appendix C: Recruitment Letter to Research Participants………………………. 159 Appendix D: Letter of Consent to Parents and/or Guardians……………………. 161 Appendix E: Letter of Assent to Research Participants…………………………. 164 Appendix F: Media Consent and Release Form………………………………….. 168 Appendix G: Personal Profile Questionnaire (PPQ)……………………………... 169 Appendix H: First Semi-Structured Open-Ended Interview Questions………….. 171 Appendix I: Second Semi-Structured Open-Ended Interview Questions………... 172 Appendix J: Third Semi-Structured Interview Questions………………………... 174 Appendix K: Prompt for the Who I Am Collage…………………………………. 175 Appendix L: Emma‟s Collage……………………………………………………. 176 Appendix M: Viviana‟s Collage………………………………………………….. 177 Appendix N: Gabriela‟s Collage………………………………………………... 178 vi References………………………………………………………………………………. 179 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Description Page Number 1 Lucia‟s Collage………………………………. 83 2 Laura‟s Collage……………………………… 90 3 Scarlett‟s Collage……………………………. 109 4 Carolina‟s Collage…………………………… 125 5 Anastasia Diana‟s Collage…………………… 128 viii Dedication For Aunt Joyce and Jules. ix Acknowledgments I thank my dissertation committee, Drs. Lisa Weems, Sally Lloyd, Kathleen Knight- Abowitz, Richard Quantz, and Yu-Fang Cho, for your thoughtful readings and insightful feedback on earlier drafts of this dissertation. I also thank each of you for providing and nourishing an intellectual and emotional space for me to grow in as a new scholar. The completion of the PhD program is in no small part a product of the patience, support, and guidance that each of you has offered to me. I am indebted to the 8 young women – Anastasia Diana, Emma, Scarlett, Gabriela, Laura, Viviana, Lucia, and Carolina (pseudonyms) – who participated in this project. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me even though there was never a guarantee about what I would write in my “book.” I also extend my thanks to your parents, whose trust and consent were integral to this project, and to your teachers, who supported and helped me in recruitment process. I am particularly grateful to Wendy Wuenker,

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