{"id":{"repo_id":"unm","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalrepository.unm.edu:cj_etds-1072"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/unm/oai:digitalrepository.unm.edu:cj_etds-1072","repository":{"repo_id":"unm","name":"University of New Mexico","base_url":"https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"A Latina Captain in Showtime's Dexter: (Un)Veiling a Progressive Image of Latinas through Discourse Analysis of Media-Audience Co-constructions of Latinidad'","abstract":"This thesis focuses on Showtimes series Dexter as a rich text through which to study the production and consumption of racial and gender representations in media. More specifically, this research examines the representation of a prominent Latina character (Captain Maria LaGuerta) in Dexter and the audience readings of this character to explore the co-construction of contemporary discourses on Latinidad. On the basis of a critical discourse analysis of the television text and online viewer comments, I discuss relations between the meanings encoded in the text and the meanings co-constructed interactively by audiences online, and the ideological implications of such discourse on Latinidad given the current climate of racial relations in the United States. The analysis shows how a seemingly progressive representation of a Latina in a breakthrough role that over-steps 'old' racial and gender boundaries, does not break down the reproduction of stereotypical representations and notions of Latinidad based on homogeneity, symbolic colonization, and immigration as markers of Latina/o identity. In addition, the analysis shows how notions of Latinidad link Latina/os to ideologies of race and gender to which other minority groups are often associated in contemporary conservative discourse.","abstract_html":"This thesis focuses on Showtimes series Dexter as a rich text through which to study the production and consumption of racial and gender representations in media. More specifically, this research examines the representation of a prominent Latina character (Captain Maria LaGuerta) in Dexter and the audience readings of this character to explore the co-construction of contemporary discourses on Latinidad. On the basis of a critical discourse analysis of the television text and online viewer comments, I discuss relations between the meanings encoded in the text and the meanings co-constructed interactively by audiences online, and the ideological implications of such discourse on Latinidad given the current climate of racial relations in the United States. The analysis shows how a seemingly progressive representation of a Latina in a breakthrough role that over-steps 'old' racial and gender boundaries, does not break down the reproduction of stereotypical representations and notions of Latinidad based on homogeneity, symbolic colonization, and immigration as markers of Latina/o identity. In addition, the analysis shows how notions of Latinidad link Latina/os to ideologies of race and gender to which other minority groups are often associated in contemporary conservative discourse.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Leon, Diana"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Communication","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Department of Communication and Journalism","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Rodriguez, Ilia","Washington, Myra","Lopez, Nancy"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:26:00Z","subjects":["Communication Latinidad Television"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/73"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/73","href":"https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/73","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1928/23282","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Rodriguez, Ilia","Washington, Myra","Lopez, Nancy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Leon, Diana"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Communication and Journalism"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis","Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Communication"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Communication Latinidad Television"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1928/23282","https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/73"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis focuses on Showtimes series Dexter as a rich text through which to study the production and consumption of racial and gender representations in media. More specifically, this research examines the representation of a prominent Latina character (Captain Maria LaGuerta) in Dexter and the audience readings of this character to explore the co-construction of contemporary discourses on Latinidad. On the basis of a critical discourse analysis of the television text and online viewer comments, I discuss relations between the meanings encoded in the text and the meanings co-constructed interactively by audiences online, and the ideological implications of such discourse on Latinidad given the current climate of racial relations in the United States. The analysis shows how a seemingly progressive representation of a Latina in a breakthrough role that over-steps 'old' racial and gender boundaries, does not break down the reproduction of stereotypical representations and notions of Latinidad based on homogeneity, symbolic colonization, and immigration as markers of Latina/o identity. In addition, the analysis shows how notions of Latinidad link Latina/os to ideologies of race and gender to which other minority groups are often associated in contemporary conservative discourse."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Latina Captain in Showtime's Dexter: (Un)Veiling a Progressive Image of Latinas through Discourse Analysis of Media-Audience Co-constructions of Latinidad'"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Rodriguez, Ilia","Washington, Myra","Lopez, Nancy"],"dc:creator":["Leon, Diana"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis focuses on Showtimes series Dexter as a rich text through which to study the production and consumption of racial and gender representations in media. More specifically, this research examines the representation of a prominent Latina character (Captain Maria LaGuerta) in Dexter and the audience readings of this character to explore the co-construction of contemporary discourses on Latinidad. On the basis of a critical discourse analysis of the television text and online viewer comments, I discuss relations between the meanings encoded in the text and the meanings co-constructed interactively by audiences online, and the ideological implications of such discourse on Latinidad given the current climate of racial relations in the United States. The analysis shows how a seemingly progressive representation of a Latina in a breakthrough role that over-steps 'old' racial and gender boundaries, does not break down the reproduction of stereotypical representations and notions of Latinidad based on homogeneity, symbolic colonization, and immigration as markers of Latina/o identity. In addition, the analysis shows how notions of Latinidad link Latina/os to ideologies of race and gender to which other minority groups are often associated in contemporary conservative discourse."],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/1928/23282","https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/73"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["Communication Latinidad Television"],"dc:title":["A Latina Captain in Showtime's Dexter: (Un)Veiling a Progressive Image of Latinas through Discourse Analysis of Media-Audience Co-constructions of Latinidad'"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Communication and Journalism"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis","Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Communication"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:26:00Z"}