For Hispanic girls, finding a magazine that reflects their views is difficult, even in this media-saturated world.
Fortunately, a group of Austin women grew tired of the media void and started a magazine on the Internet in January called Latinitas, which means "little Latinas".
The web magazine (or webzine) is aimed at girls 9 – 14 and aims to inform and inspire young Latinas to grow into successful women.
Co-founder Alicia Rascon noticed there wasn't a magazine for girls like her since she was a little girl.
"I remember looking at teen magazines and looking at pictures of girls. I never saw Hispanic girls. I always received the message that somehow my culture was inferior or I wasn't special enough to be included in these magazines. The pictures I saw didn't reflect the community I came from," she said.
Years later, after graduating from UT and meeting three other women with the same concerns, the bilingual webzine Latinitas was born.
"One of our main focuses is to empower girls, to let them know about their culture, their history, to entertain them with articles about Latin bands, different entertainment medias that you don't hear about," Rascon said.
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Latinitas
The online magazine is a first for Hispanic girls.
 
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According to Latinitas, studies by Media Metrix and Jupiter Research show that girls and boys use the Internet for different reasons. Girls prefer to use the computer for chat rooms, message boards and educational material. Boys would rather play games. It seems that girls tend to use the Internet to communicate and express themselves.
On the KOOP 91.5 FM radio show Mamis of Color, Latinitas co-founder Laura Donnelly said they chose an online format to keep costs down and hopefully help their audience become computer-savvy.
Another key element of the site is to get Latin girls thinking about college at an early age. Desirae and Savana, two Austin teens, say they will benefit from the Web site.
"In school all of the teachers teach us about America. They don't teach us about where we came from. It will help me learn about my own culture," Savana said.
"I want to go to college and become a doctor. Maybe it would help me," Desirae said.
