Neither here nor there: Consumption of US media among pre-adolescent girls in Ecuador

Through in-depth interview research, this article examines how pre-adolescent Ecuadorian girls who are avid consumers of US media and material culture negotiate their national and gender identities. Exploring media consumption, gender and class in the specific context of Ecuador and its history of mestizaje, this article brings an audience-specific case study to debates concerning cultural imperialism and cultural hybridity in the role of media in Latin America. It argues that middle-class girls in Ecuador engage with American media content in ways that produce a hybrid brand of girlhood – one that illustrates the complexities of postcolonial identities in a globalized media environment.