Troubling the Borders of Mexican and Filipino America through Second-Generation Daughters' Coming-of-Age Rituals

This talk explores how Filipino and Mexican female coming-of-age rituals in the US ("debutantes" and "quinceañeras," respectively) unwittingly offer spaces for considering, debating, and addressing divergences, conflicts, and inequalities within the US immigrant communities that celebrate them.  Drawing on qualitative data and analysis from Celebrating Debutantes and Quinceañeras (Temple University Press 2013), this presentation demonstrates how these events' "troublemakers"-- the assertive daughters, playful consumers, noncompliant children, gays, and unmarried women who deviate from the ideals immigrant communities have constructed for mothers, daughters, and sons-- challenge families and communities to enlarge what it means to be "good" Mexican or Filipino women and men. This shows how US quinceañeras and debutantes are purposefully, strategically, and creatively employed to forge new understandings of what it means to be "Mexican," "Filipino," and "American"-- for mainstream Americans, as well as Filipino and Mexican Americans themselves.