Scarline Martinez

Alyssa Yankwitt

ENGL 21002

05/12/21

Reflection

     My researched subculture paper’s characteristics are quotes, citations, and a visual image expressing the hypersexualization of women of color. I was motivated to write about this subject due to my identity as a Latina woman. I’ve made sure to educate myself on the over-sexualization of women throughout my life and how it was detrimental. However, I felt drawn towards the topic regarding the sexualization of black and brown women, given that it’s a subject that’s not addressed to the degree that it should despite the seriousness. For this purpose, I felt drawn to write about the hypersexualization of Latina women and girls. I regarded this subculture as an opportunity to bring exposure to and actively engage in the conversation on the experiences of Latina women and young girls. 

     During the writing process, I hoped to write a paper that displayed my subculture while granting insight into the disturbing reality women of color face. I wanted my essay to depict my identity while capturing my stance on my subculture. To obtain this, I engaged in developing and engaging in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes and enhancing strategies for reading, drafting, revising, editing, and self-assessment. I considered feedback from my peer review and the professor’s discussion on what is appropriate to write about when considering your subculture. For this reason, I shifted my topic from the over-sexualization of black women to the over-sexualization of Latina women; given that it was a subculture, I could provide my stance in a way that showed I belonged to it.

    Moreover, the potential audience is the professor, classmates, women of color, and those interested in issues on women, specifically minorities. The relationship between me as a writer, my potential audience, and the medium I am using to communicate has to do with clearly expressing my position in my researched subculture paper through my use of sources as I incorporated, quoted, and analyzed sources on my subculture. As a writer, I found it necessary for my audience and me to reach a mutual understanding of what my stance was. I attempted this by negotiating my own writing goals and audience expectations regarding conventions of the genre, medium, and rhetorical situation. Since one of my main aims was to obtain my audience’s attention, I’ve made sure to have gripping subheadings that added substance to my essay. Further, given my audience’s diverse cultural background and most being females, we shared some knowledge of the marginalization of Latina women when considering how they’re sexualized which made the writing process somewhat easier and manageable.