Jestina Ricci awarded Winston Family Honors Award for Outstanding Honors Thesis

Jestina Ricci '24, receives prestigious Honors College Award for honors thesis

WGSS major Jestina Ricci has been awarded the Winston Family Honors Award for Outstanding Honors Thesis. Established by Robert and Karen Winston, the annual Winston Honors Writing Awards recognize the written work of students in the University of Maryland Honors College. 

Jestina received the award for Outstanding Honors Thesis for "Forever and Indefinitely My Baby: #MedicalMoms, Social Media Influencing, and the Denial of Disability Identity Formation."

Abstract: 

Throughout the United States, individual states are passing legislation to entitle compensation to the children of family vloggers. However, disabled children are excluded from these pieces of legislation due to their subject positions as both disabled and children. As the subjects of content posted by a community of non-disabled mothers under the #MedicalMom hashtag, disabled children are mobilized for sympathy and online views from non-disabled audiences. When #MedicalMoms are criticized, it is for their irresponsible reproduction and sexuality instead of the denial of their children’s identity formation online. Both content posted by #MedicalMoms and reactions to said content rely on positioning disability as a specter. As the disabled children of influencers age into adulthood, centering their perspectives will be crucial to transforming discourse on care and dependence, as well as addressing any limitations in forthcoming state legislations. 

The selection committee writes the following: "Extensively researched and theorized, your thesis uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine how social media, disability, and privacy concerns intersect in contemporary parenting culture.... Throughout, your call to center, recover, and prioritize the voices, experiences, dignity, and identity formation of people with disabilities rings through with the most compelling intellectual force and ethical conviction."

Congratulations Jestina!