Societies

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235 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Latinos Need to Stay in Their Place: Differential Segregation in a Multi-Ethnic Suburb

by Celia Lacayo

Societies 2016, 6(3), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc6030025 - 15 Aug 2016

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 13842

While Latinos face high levels of segregation, there is scant research specifically addressing whites’ attitudes towards Latinos regarding their preferences. This study draws from 40 in-depth interviews with whites in Orange County California, an area with a large Latino and Asian population. I [...] Read more.

While Latinos face high levels of segregation, there is scant research specifically addressing whites’ attitudes towards Latinos regarding their preferences. This study draws from 40 in-depth interviews with whites in Orange County California, an area with a large Latino and Asian population. I demonstrate that white respondents choose to segregate themselves from Latinos. Most studies have used Blumer’s group position theory to explain white attitudes and neighborhood preference towards Blacks. My findings supports Blumer’s group position theory by revealing why white respondents feel threatened by an increase in the Latino population. Yet, the Asian population has also grown, but white respondents convey positive sentiments towards Asians, and express they feel comfortable living and interacting with them. I argue that white respondents’ preferences with regards to integration are not solely based on the size of a group, but rather whether they characterize the group as inferior. Integration has been touted as an American principle. Yet, as the country becomes more diverse, this case study illustrates that white respondents prefer to share space with those they feel similar to, and consequently contribute to Latino segregation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

267 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Can I Trust You if You Don’t Know Who You Are? The Consequences of a Fluid Identity on Cross-Racial Organizing between African American Women and Latinas in Atlanta

by Belisa González

Societies 2016, 6(2), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc6020013 - 22 Apr 2016

Viewed by 5477

Abstract

Scholarship in the area of cross-racial organizing between Latina/o and African Americans has increased substantially over the past ten years. Within that literature, scholars have identified many reasons why cross-racial coalitions both succeed and fail. Among the factors most often cited is the [...] Read more.

Scholarship in the area of cross-racial organizing between Latina/o and African Americans has increased substantially over the past ten years. Within that literature, scholars have identified many reasons why cross-racial coalitions both succeed and fail. Among the factors most often cited is the issue of trust. Despite the recognition of the crucial role trust plays in cross-racial organizing, little attention has been paid to what contributes to actually building trust between African Americans and Latina/o. I argue that one factor contributing to the distrust of Latinas among African American women involved in cross-racial organizing in Atlanta is the perceived discrepancy between Latinas’ own asserted identity and the identity assigned to them by African American women organizers. Using data gathered from six years of participant observation and forty interviews conducted with African American women and Latinas organizing in Georgia, I discuss the consequences of identity construction for cross-racial organizing. I find that within cross-racial organizing spaces in Atlanta, perceived racial identities are used by African American women as proxies for determining Latina organizers’ commitment to social justice and, correspondingly, how much individual Latinas can be trusted. Specifically, I find that African American respondents view Latina identity as optional and potentially white. Latina respondents, on the other hand, assert strong identities and contend that their perceived “optional” identities are a function of what Anzaldúa calls a mestiza consciousness or the straddeling of multiple identities. I argue that understanding how these identities are assigned and asserted by Latinas and African American women is a crucial and often-overlooked component to building trust, and by extension, to building sustainable cross-racial coalitions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

714 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Normative Ideals, “Alternative” Realities: Perceptions of Interracial Dating among Professional Latinas and Black Women

by Rocio Garcia

Societies 2015, 5(4), 807-830; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc5040807 - 18 Nov 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 29052

Abstract

Family types continue to expand in the U.S., yet normative patterns of endogamy and the privileging of nuclear families persist. To understand how professional women of color navigate endogamy and family ideals, I draw on 40 in-depth interviews of professional Black women and [...] Read more.

Family types continue to expand in the U.S., yet normative patterns of endogamy and the privileging of nuclear families persist. To understand how professional women of color navigate endogamy and family ideals, I draw on 40 in-depth interviews of professional Black women and Latinas to ask how they construct partner preferences. I find that professional Latinas and Black women prefer same-race, similarly educated partners but report significant barriers to satisfying these desires. Respondents’ experiences with racism, the rejection of ethno-racial and cultural assimilation, gendered racism from men of color, and the college gender gap emerge as mechanisms for endogamous preferences. These preferences resist and support hegemonic family formation, an ideological and behavioral process that privileges, white, middle class, endogamous, heteronormative ideals for families comprising courtship, marriage, and biological childbearing. By challenging the racial devaluation of people of color while preferring the normativity that endogamy offers, the women in this study underscore the fluidity embedded in endogamy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

750 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Imposed Hispanicity: How the Imposition of Racialized and Gendered Identities in Texas Affects Mexican Women in Romantic Relationships with White Men

by Jennifer C. Guillén

Societies 2015, 5(4), 778-806; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc5040778 - 17 Nov 2015

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 22090

Abstract

Intimate, romantic spaces are important sites for the examination of self-identification and perceived identification, especially with regard to gender and racial power. In this article I examine how white men in romantic relationships or marriages with Mexican women and residing in Texas, impose [...] Read more.

Intimate, romantic spaces are important sites for the examination of self-identification and perceived identification, especially with regard to gender and racial power. In this article I examine how white men in romantic relationships or marriages with Mexican women and residing in Texas, impose “Hispanic” as a racial identity as a discursive tactic that reinforces the hegemonic power of being white and being a man in order to define the situation, impose ideals that distance Mexican partners from being “too ethnic” or “threatening” in order to achieve closer proximity to “honorary whiteness” and acceptability of racial others, and creates a romantic space that is coercive instead of loving and safe. This study thus finds that white men used their hegemony to not only employ imposed Hispanicity, which I define as an institutionally created but culturally and institutionally imposed label, and an action based on the use of direct and indirect coercion and force by others, in this case, white romantic partners, for the purpose of establishing power and determining the situation in which racial definitions are made. Therefore, “Hispanic” becomes an identity that is chosen by others and while participants of Mexican descent do employ agency, the socially imposed conditions and expectations associated with “Hispanic” serve to police the identities, bodies, lives, and actions of people of Latin American descent. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

261 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intercultural Dating at Predominantly White Universities in the United States: The Maintenance and Crossing of Group Borders

by Micere Keels and Keshia Harris

Societies 2014, 4(3), 363-379; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc4030363 - 27 Jun 2014

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 12372

Abstract

The increased representation of minority students on the campuses of predominantly White universities in the United States presents increased opportunities for intercultural contact. Studying dating experiences across racial and ethnic lines has been used to determine the existence of a post-racial America. While [...] Read more.

The increased representation of minority students on the campuses of predominantly White universities in the United States presents increased opportunities for intercultural contact. Studying dating experiences across racial and ethnic lines has been used to determine the existence of a post-racial America. While most previous research has examined general racial/ethnic and gender differences in intercultural college dating experiences, this study analyzes precollege and college-going friendship diversity and skin tone as factors accounting for romantic distance between racial/ethnic groups among a recent cohort of college students. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses were conducted on a 4-year longitudinal sample of 2804 undergraduate students from 24 colleges and universities. Results confirm that White students continue to be the group most likely to engage in intragroup dating relationships, Latino/a students were the most likely to date interculturally, and that Black men were significantly more likely to date interculturally than Black women. For Black students there were significant within group differences in intercultural dating based on skin tone. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

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218 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parental Background and Union Formation Behavior of Native Born Individuals in Sweden with a Foreign Background

by Aycan Çelikaksoy

Societies 2014, 4(3), 351-362; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc4030351 - 27 Jun 2014

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5083

Abstract

Social cohesion in destination countries is an increasingly important issue due to the multiethnic structures in these countries and due to ongoing international migration. Union formation of individuals across different backgrounds can be seen as an indicator of social cohesion. However, this phenomenon [...] Read more.

Social cohesion in destination countries is an increasingly important issue due to the multiethnic structures in these countries and due to ongoing international migration. Union formation of individuals across different backgrounds can be seen as an indicator of social cohesion. However, this phenomenon is important not only in the case of first generation migrants but also for their descendants. Thus, this paper analyzes the determinants of intergroup union formation patterns of the native born individuals with a foreign background focusing on the role of parental background in addition to individual as well as marriage market characteristics. High quality data at the individual level, from Statistics Sweden, for the whole population of interest is utilized. The results indicate that parental composition is an important determinant of union formation behavior. Furthermore, there are gender specific pathways of the parental background effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

431 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cross-Racial Interactions during College: A Longitudinal Study of Four Forms of Interracial Interactions among Elite White College Students

by William Carson Byrd

Societies 2014, 4(2), 265-295; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc4020265 - 4 Jun 2014

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6783

Abstract

College and universities present distinct opportunities to interact across racial and ethnic lines that may influence people’s prejudice toward different groups. This study examines the influence of four forms of cross-race interaction on traditional and modern forms of racial prejudice among white college [...] Read more.

College and universities present distinct opportunities to interact across racial and ethnic lines that may influence people’s prejudice toward different groups. This study examines the influence of four forms of cross-race interaction on traditional and modern forms of racial prejudice among white college students at 28 of the most selective colleges and universities in the US. This study finds that, although white students’ level of racial prejudice declines over four years, interracial contact during college does not significantly influence their level of prejudice. Moreover, a race-related form of social identity is the most consistent influence on students’ racial prejudice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

358 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Crossing the Color Line: Black Professional Men’s Development of Interracial Social Networks

by Adia Harvey Wingfield

Societies 2014, 4(2), 240-255; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc4020240 - 22 May 2014

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6436

Abstract

Sociologists have established that social networks often play an important role in hiring, promotions, and occupational mobility. For black workers, however, social networks can be racialized in ways that work to their disadvantage. In this paper, I consider how black professional men develop [...] Read more.

Sociologists have established that social networks often play an important role in hiring, promotions, and occupational mobility. For black workers, however, social networks can be racialized in ways that work to their disadvantage. In this paper, I consider how black professional men develop and maintain interracial social networks with white men and women. I argue that these networks are shaped by intersections of race and gender and are intentionally constructed in response to black professional men’s perceptions of their positioning within male-dominated occupations. Specifically, this paper examines how black men establish social networks with white men, their perceptions of how diverging levels of social capital shape these networks compared to their white male peers, and their observations of ways that women are less advantaged than they are in constructing social networks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

372 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diversity, Multiethnicity, and Latino Social Networks

by Rosalyn Negrón

Societies 2014, 4(2), 222-239; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc4020222 - 19 May 2014

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6946

Abstract

Given the steady increase of ethnic diversity in the US, greater numbers of people develop the ability to negotiate ethnic boundaries and form multiple ethnic identifications. This paper explores the relationship between intra-ethnic and cross-ethnic relationships—defined in terms of social networks—and patterns of [...] Read more.

Given the steady increase of ethnic diversity in the US, greater numbers of people develop the ability to negotiate ethnic boundaries and form multiple ethnic identifications. This paper explores the relationship between intra-ethnic and cross-ethnic relationships—defined in terms of social networks—and patterns of ethnic self-identification among New York City (NYC) Latinos. Drawing on theory and methods from the field of social network analysis, one hypothesis is that people with ethnically heterogeneous networks are more likely to have multiple ethnic identifications than people with ethnically homogeneous networks. The paper further explores the relationship between network ethnic diversity and the demographic and network characteristics of Latinos from four different Latino subgroups: Colombian, Dominican, Mexican, and Puerto Rican. A total of 97 NYC Latinos were administered ethnic self-identification and factorial surveys, and a social network questionnaire. Blau’s diversity index was used to compute the level of ethnic diversity present in participants’ networks. Results provided modest support for the hypothesis that multiple ethnic identifications would be associated with network ethnic diversity. There were important differences between the four groups in terms of network diversity, network ethnic composition, and ethnic self-identification. Results provide some support for the notion that weak ties introduce diversity to social networks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

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93 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Patterns of Intergroup Contact in Public Spaces: Micro-Ecology of Segregation in Australian Communities

by Naomi Priest, Yin Paradies, Angeline Ferdinand, Lobna Rouhani and Margaret Kelaher

Societies 2014, 4(1), 30-44; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc4010030 - 7 Jan 2014

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 9129

Abstract

The use of public spaces can promote social cohesion and facilitate interpersonal interactions within the community. However, the ways racial and ethnic groups interact in public spaces can also reflect and influence informal segregation in the wider community. The present study aimed to [...] Read more.

The use of public spaces can promote social cohesion and facilitate interpersonal interactions within the community. However, the ways racial and ethnic groups interact in public spaces can also reflect and influence informal segregation in the wider community. The present study aimed to examine patterns of intergroup contact within public spaces in Victoria, Australia through short-term observation in four localities. Data were collected on within-group, intergroup and absence of contact for people from minority and majority groups. A total of 974 contacts were observed. Findings indicate that in the observed public spaces, people from visible minority groups tended to have no contact with others or to interact with people from other ethnic/racial groups. In contrast, those from the majority group tended to interact predominately with other majority group members. This suggests that majority group members are more likely to ‘self-segregate’ in public spaces than those from minority groups. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cross-racial and Cross-ethnic Personal and Group Relationships)

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