ABSTRACT
This chapter critically examines news coverage of 18-year-old Emma González, a survivor of the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. González has emerged as the most recognizable and written-about figure in the #NeverAgain movement. Looking specifically at published “profile” pieces (rather than general news stories) across a range of print, electronic, and online media outlets, grounded in the growing body of girl activism literature, Latina Studies, and Girls’ Studies, including Sarah Projansky’s (2014) work on “spectacular girls,” this chapter argues that the media’s fascination with González is rooted in more than what have been described as her “fiery” speeches (the Latina Spitfire stereotype perhaps?), but rather in her dramatic physicality (e.g., shaved head), her sexuality (she identifies as bisexual), and Latina (Cuban) ethnicity. While not necessarily constructed by the media as troublesome, the fact that so many profiles have focused on her bodily signifiers links González with more traditional news portrayals of teenage girls discussed in earlier chapters.
