Growing up Latinita: Latina girls, online 'zine production, and identity formation

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the ways in which the media products of the non-profit organization Latinitas revealed ideologies and discourses about identity. The organization purports to empower Latina youth via media education. The media products include two online magazines that feature content for and by the members of the organization. The media products also include a Web site where members of the organization can post and update individual blogs and videos. While not the focus of this dissertation, it is important to note that the organization also hosts various after-school programs and workshops that teach its members about issues related to media education.

The study was managed in two stages. First, a content analysis of the two magazines was conducted to reveal which ideologies were featured in the magazine articles. Literature suggests that the two most relevant identities to Latina girls are gender and ethnicity. As such, special attention was given to ideologies that directed attention to those identities. Second, a discourse analysis of the blogs and videos hosted on the Web site was performed to reveal whether the featured ideologies carried over into the media product of the members of the organization. Results suggested that the magazines focused on issues of gender while mostly ignoring issues of ethnicity. The blogs housed on the Web site reflected the focus on gender but were also the only place where talk of ethnicity was dominant. The videos were generally not used as a means to express identity and were vehicles for displaying the activities of the organization.