A Jotería Identity and Belonging: Pláticas of Co-Creation with Queer and Trans Latinx Graduate Students in Higher Education

<p>Homophobia, patriarchy, and white supremacy are deeply embedded in academia and our communities; consequently, there is a lack of empirical research that speaks to the collective experiences connected to Jotería, queer people of color, and Latinx graduate students (Tijerina Revilla & Santillana, 2014). Additionally, research has found that too often, queer and trans (QT) Latinx and other queer communities of color are pushed aside to the margins of academia and society (Tijerina Revilla & Santillana, 2014). Furthermore, silenced, queer and trans, Latinx student experiences, both inside of the classroom, and within the larger college community, lead to a lack of sense of belonging. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory qualitative dissertation is to understand the lived experiences of 41 QT Latinx graduate students in higher education. By incorporating Jotería Identity and Consciousness and Sense of Belonging as guiding frameworks, this dissertation will lay the foundation to center QT Latinx graduate students’ lived experiences through the co-creation of intimate pláticas. Through my dissertation research, my aim is to demonstrate how the merging of Jotería Identity and Consciousness along with Sense of Belonging are ultimately creating a Jotería Identity and Belonging. Utilizing a methodological approach such as pláticas, becomes essential in the meaning making process of Jotería Identity and Belonging by providing a sense of agency, comfort, and love to the co-creators. Moreover, Fierros and Delgado Bernal (2016) incorporate the use of pláticas not only as an asset based methodological approach to higher education research, but to highlight and center knowledge where the communities exist, in this case, where QT Latinx communities exist within a graduate education. Lastly, this dissertation is interdisciplinary in nature as it is grounded in fields of study such as Women of Color Feminisms, Chicana/Latina Feminisms, and Jotería Studies.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Education, PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Educational Studies

Year dc:date.available

2023

Author dc:creator

• Gonzalez, Sergio A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• David Drew
• Anita Revilla Tijerina
• Daniel Solórzano

• Jotería
• Latinx
• Pláticas
• Queer
• Sense of Belonging
• Trans
• Ethnic Studies
• Higher Education
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/587

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-1609