The social media practices and politics of queer Latinas

Escamilla, Breanna Sophia

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130168 Copy

Description

Title

The social media practices and politics of queer Latinas

Author(s)

Escamilla, Breanna Sophia

Issue Date

2025-07-11

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

• Davis, Jenny L
• Smalls, Krystal A

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

• Davis, Jenny L
• Smalls, Krystal A

Committee Member(s)

• Harrison, Faye V
• Velez, Emma

Department of Study

Anthropology

Discipline

Anthropology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Anthropology
• Latinx Studies
• Latina feminist studies
• Digital studies
• Queer studies

Abstract

This dissertation examines how queer Latinas located in the United States engage the social media platforms of Instagram and Twitter to express and theorize their lived experiences. Chapter 1 is the introduction and situates the dissertation in the fields of Anthropology, Latinx studies, and digital studies. It further establishes the methodological framework of the dissertation including, participant recruitment, ethnographic methods, and my approach to semi- structured interviews. Chapter 2 examines how the #NoSaboKid operates as a figure of U.S Latinidad that reveals the interplay between linguistic insecurity and authenticity. It further examines how gendered and heteronormative expectations inform how participants are positioned within Latinidad. Chapter 3 follows a singular participant as she narrates and theorizes her own lived experiences through interviews and her use of Instagram. This chapter is grounded in topical nodes that emerged in her narration that include her parentification, language acquisition, schooling, and mental health. Chapter 4 analyzes the ambivalent relationship participants have with social media platforms because of its implications for user mental health, the profitability of user attention, and extraction of user data. Chapter 5 is the conclusion and examines how the photographic practice of one participant generates a discussion of whose artistic practices are elevated and are not, and that methods of storytelling exist beyond the parameters of disciplines. It further offers a methodological frame and reflection of the dissertation. The conclusion concludes by offering future research directions that build upon the dissertation.

Graduation Semester

2025-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130168

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Breanna Escamilla

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