“Tell Us About Your Character”: An Autoethnographic Study of RPG’S Through Gloria Anzaldúa’s Nepantla State

Author

Jose Reta, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Date of Award

5-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Interdisciplinary Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Marci R. McMahon

Second Advisor

Dr. Cinthya Saavedra

Third Advisor

Dr. Cathryn Merla-Watson

Abstract

As an individual of intersecting marginalizations—I am Mexican American who eschews traditional masculinity and feminity, having embraced an a gender identity—I have often pondered how my lifelong hobby of tabletop role playing games aided me in feeling comfortable with myself as a person without a static identity. Using auto-ethnographic methods, I will use Anzalduan thought as the primary lens to examine how tabletop role playing games can have affected my concept of self and led me to discovering my body as a space decolonized from Western concepts of gender. Recommendations include using persistent focus groups to determine if similar findings can be resolved with others, as well as interviewing other marginalized players for their own experiences of finding new, decolonized identities through gaming.

Comments

Copyright 2020 Jose Reta. All Rights Reserved.

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/utrgv.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/tell-us-about-your-character-autoethnographic/docview/2438641825/se-2?accountid=7119

Recommended Citation

Reta, Jose, "“Tell Us About Your Character”: An Autoethnographic Study of RPG’S Through Gloria Anzaldúa’s Nepantla State" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 752.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/752