Surviving on the Margins: Drug-Involved Latina Girls' Relationships With Their Mothers

"Over the last 20 years, conventional Girl Studies has established a need to recognize the intellectual, gendered, and embodied development of girls as viable subjects of interest. Though there is an increase presence of girl... [ view full abstract ]

"Over the last 20 years, conventional Girl Studies has established a need to recognize the intellectual, gendered, and embodied development of girls as viable subjects of interest. Though there is an increase presence of girl of color experience in Girl Studies, there remains a gap in recognizing young Latina adolescent experiences. Regrettably, the “girl” in Girl Studies is either a White or Black girl in the United States or she is a Muslim girl, an Indonesian girl, an African girl who is showing the world how she is “rising” in spite of the global experiences she finds herself in. But what of Latinas in the US who are not “foreign” girls and are all too often not considered “local.” Indeed, the 2015 National Women’s Studies Association program included over 60 papers on Girl Studies. Of those, only 5 were obviously centered around Latina girl experiences. This panel urges the need to include Latinas in Girl Studies. By highlighting Niñas, or Latina girls, panelists provide an intervention to the way we understand adolescent development and girlhood within the Latin@ experience. The papers will emphasize how Latina/o Studies can trouble the hegemonic narrative of girlhood in Girl Studies. In particular, panelists will explore topics on education, sexuality, and mother/daughter relationships to understand how niñas finesse their gendered childhood and adolescent experiences within a particular US Latino ethnic context.
Vera Lopez’ paper will draw upon qualitative interviews and focus groups that highlights Latina girls’ relationships with mothers who failed to live up to idealized “good mothering” norms, but still cared deeply about their daughters. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the juvenile justice system can be more responsive to the gendered, racialized, and classed needs of Latina girls and their mothers. Dolores Delgado Bernal’s work will situate Chicana feminist theory within the educational experience of Latina girls. In particular, she will provide a video example of how ""pedagogies of the home” specifically can translate into meaning for young girls. Lastly, Tracey Flores will discuss her experiences working alongside families, specifically mothers and daughters, in after-school family writing workshops where writing/drawing/storytelling was used as a vehicle to share stories about their lived experiences. Flores will share their written narratives and analyze how mothers/daughters interacted around the telling of such stories. Moreover, she will explore how this space could possibly provide a platform for the building of coalitions of women to support girls socially and academically. Rebeca Mireles-Rios will speak on Latina/o adolescents perceptions of teacher support and communication about higher education and how this influences their future aspirations and expectations. Lastly, Sofia A. Villenas will act as discussant for the panel. Sujey Vega will serve as chair.


Panel 101