The Teenage Latina Genius on Television: Netflix’s Ashley Garcia
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-3-2023
Keywords
Feminist scholarship, Latina girl, media studies, qualitative methods, television
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1080/07491409.2022.2147676
Abstract
This article examines a recent mediated version of Latina girlhood, the teenage science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) genius, through an analysis of a Netflix original series: Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love (2020). The series offers a representation of girlhood that does not fully align with either the “at-risk” or the “can-do” girls that have appeared previously on television. By conducting a qualitative analysis that highlights key episodes, we interrogate the layered representation of Latina girlhood offered in the show, focusing on two aspects: how the title character, Ashley, appears as a particular embodiment of a contemporary Latina teenager, and how she is narratively positioned in the story line. Our findings suggest that the series showcases a complex albeit ambiguous and ambivalent representation of Latina girlhood. This portrayal is exaggerated and fantastic and ultimately falls back on common tropes found in teen-oriented television.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Women's Studies in Communication, DOI: 10.1080/07491409.2022.2147676
Scholar Commons Citation
Leon-Boys, Diana and Bucciferro, Claudia, "The Teenage Latina Genius on Television: Netflix’s Ashley Garcia" (2023). Communication Faculty Publications. 961.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/spe_facpub/961
