Jotería Studies and/in Communication
Jotería Studies and/in Communication
- Luis M. AndradeLuis M. AndradeDepartment of Communication and Media Studies, Santa Monica College
Summary
In recent decades, Communication scholars have drawn from and added to the subdiscipline of Jotería Studies, a relatively modern branch of gender and queer studies that draws from history, sociology, ethnic studies, and other fields. Jotería Studies provide a glimpse into the lives of Jotería, a unique group and subculture that includes Latina/o/x, Chicana/o/x, and mestiza/o/x noncisheteronormative and/or gender-nonconforming persons. Latina/o/x are terms that loosely refer to persons from Latin America, Chicana/o/x loosely refer to people with Mexican origins and/or part of a collective movement from the 1960s/1970s that was rooted in indigenous and/or Mexica ancestry and mythologies, and mestiza/o/x loosely refer to people that have mixed identities as Mexican, Latin American, indigenous, and/or white/Spanish. The use of x signifies gender nonconformance since the “-a” and “-o” are gendered terms. Of interest to scholars are the ways that Jotería communities survive oppressive conditions, despite the constant persecution of the subgroup by modern/colonial gender, racist, classist, ableist, and other oppressive institutions.
As Jotería Studies arose in the United States, scholars in Communication research started integrating the unique epistemologies and methodologies of the subdiscipline into their own studies in unique and fascinating ways. Communication scholars add to or draw from the myriad definitions for the term Jotería and its different variations, the histories of the subdiscipline, and Jotería Studies methodologies. As Communication and Jotería Studies converge, complement, or diverge, future directions and potential applications of Jotería Studies in Communication remain.
Subjects
- Gender (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies)