Multiple Social Identities among Latinxs

• In Event: The Status of U.S. Democracy through the Lens of Latinx Politics

Abstract

Despite theoretically acknowledging the importance of intersectionality, much of the work on the political behavior of ethnoracial minorities implies that racial group identity is prioritized above all other identities. For example, when considering Latino/as, most studies explore whether members of the group identify as either Latino/a, as American, or as their national origin. However, Latino/as’ social and political identities are also shaped and defined by gender and class, among other salient groups. In this project, I examine the extent to which gender, class and ethnoracial identities are salient for Latinos and Latinas.

Emerging work that seeks to break down the conceptualization of multiple identities suggests that identity prioritization of one identity over another may explain why some Latinxs adopt specific political positions. Hickel et al. find that Latinxs who prioritize an American identity over an ethnic identity are more likely to support conservative immigration policy positions and to support Republican politicians (Hickel et al. 2021). At the same time, this examination has generally been limited to the relationship between ethnoracial, national and country of origin identities, without a close look at how the politicization of the multiple identities that people hold may impact their political attitudes and behavior.

Why does the intersection of ethnoracial, class and gender identities matter? First, scholarly work suggests that when it comes to ethnoracial identities, men and women may have different attachments. Latinas are less likely to identify as American compared to Latinos, yet at the same time Latinas are more likely to want to preserve a distinct Latinx culture (Silber Mohamed 2015). Perceptions of gender linked fate also matter by race (Stout, Kretschmer, and Ruppanner 2017), and there is evidence from literature in Black politics that men and women differ on their support of women’s issues and welfare (Lizotte and Carey 2021). However, there is very little scholarly work on how gender and class among Latinas/os impacts their political attitudes.

To better measure the extent to which these identities are salient, this project uses a survey of Latinos to capture the extent of their attachment to their gender, class and ethnoracial identities. These measures capture identification with the group (what happens to the group will impact all members of the group), power discontent (your group does not have access to power or resources in society), rejection of legitimacy/system blame (not having power is related to broader systemic factors rather than individual-level issues), collective orientation (the best way to address these issues is by organizing together as a group), and cognitive centrality (the extent to which people use their group membership as a cognitive schema) (Gurin, Miller, and Gurin 1980). I measure how identity attachment differs for different members of the group, as well as the relationship between these identities and Latina/o/x attitudes and behavior.

Author

• Angie N Ocampo-Roland, University of Pittsburgh