Date of Award

5-4-2007

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Jaye Atkinson - Chair

Second Advisor

Yuki Fujioka

Third Advisor

Merrill Morris

Fourth Advisor

Mary Ann Romski

Abstract

Media are powerful agents of socialization; mediated images affect individual and group behavior as well as inter-group attitudes. In the case of the Hispanic/Latino community in the U.S., frequently underrepresented and stereotyped in mainstream media, identity politics and perspectives of self-representation are complicated by the vast diversity of this membership. This project analyzed the current discourse on Hispanic/Latino ethnic identity proposed by Latina magazine and its social standing in relation to the mainstream culture. A quantitative content analysis that compared Latina’s visual portrayals of women to the female portrayals found in the mainstream magazine Glamour suggested that Latina constructed a homogenized and non-conflictive identity for Hispanic/Latino women; an identity that supports U.S. dominant discourses on ethnicity and race and is subjugated to marketing practices.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/1061288

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