Nicholas Vargas

Latina/O Whitening? Which Latina/os self-classify as white and report being perceived as white by other Americans?

Some scholars argue that Latina/os in the United States may soon become White, much like the supposed Whitening of Eastern European immigrant groups in the early twentieth century. High rates of White racial identification on surveys among Latina/os is one explanation provided for this assertion. However, personal identification is but one element of racial boundary maintenance. It is when personal identification is externally validated that it is most closely associated with group-based experiences. This article maps components of the White-Latino racial boundary that may be permeable to White expansion by examining conditions under which Latina/os self-identify as White and report that they are externally classified as White by other Americans. Employing novel data from the 2006 Portraits of American Life Study, this article shows that nearly 40% of Latina/os sometimes self-identify as White, yet a much smaller proportion—only 6%—report being externally classified as White by others. Moreover, logistic regression analyses suggest that for those with light phenotypical features and high levels of socioeconomic status, the odds of reported external Whitening are increased. Interestingly, phenotypically light Latina/os with low-socioeconomic-status levels have low probabilities of reporting external classification as White when compared to their phenotypically light and high-socioeconomic-status counterparts, suggesting that the combination of both skin color and class may be central to the White-Latino racial boundary. Results also indicate that many who report external Whitening do not prefer to self-identify as White. In sum, multidimensional measures of racial classification indicate that only a very small minority of Latina/os may be “becoming White” in ways that some previous researchers have predicted.

Off white: colour-blind ideology at the margins of whiteness

This study examines the relationship between racial contestation and colour-blind ideology adherence. Using the first nationally representative study to ask respondents directly about personal racial identity and external racial ascription, I compare the racial conceptualizations of contested and non-contested whites. Contested whites are individuals who identify racially as white, but who are perceived by others as non-white. Contested whites find themselves at the margins of whiteness, betwixt and between categories of racial dominance and racial marginalization. One might hypothesize that because contested whites are socially perceived as non-white, that they would be more aware of racial marginalization in social life, and would therefore exhibit more progressive racial views. However, this study finds that the opposite is true. Results of ordinal logistic regression analyses suggest that individuals placed at the margins of whiteness may seek to legitimate group membership as white by expressing similar and sometimes even amplified notions of colourblindness than their non-contested white counterparts.

Befriending the “Other”: Patterns of Social Ties between the Religious and Non-Religious:

Aside from the literature on inter-racial and cross-sex relationships, few studies have examined the determinants of relationships that cross social boundaries. The authors contribute to this literature by considering the social boundary between the religious and the non-religious. Surveys of U.S. adults provide evidence of popular aversion toward the non-religious, but this analysis of the Baylor Religion Survey (2005) shows that the majority of religious Americans report a friendship with someone who is not religious at all. The authors find that such boundary-crossing relationships are largely structured by homophily, opportunities for intergroup contact, and religious barriers to intergroup contact. These findings reveal that some religiously themed conflicts that are common among cultural elites may not be particularly salient in the realm of daily social life.

THE ROLE OF PERCEIVED RELIGIOUS SIMILARITY IN THE QUALITY OF MOTHER-CHILD RELATIONS IN LATER-LIFE: DIFFERENCES WITHIN FAMILIES AND BETWEEN RACES.

Despite evidence of the importance of value similarity in predicting parentadult child relations, little attention has been given to the unique role of religious similarity. Using 1,407 dyads nested within 390 families, the authors examine whether religious similarity predicts the quality of mother-child relations in later life and whether the strength of this association differs by race. Consistent with the authors’ hypotheses, religious similarity was found to be an important factor in predicting both closeness and conflict, particularly in Black families. These findings suggest that it may be important to give greater attention to religion when studying patterns of interaction and support in the later years, especially among Black families.

Documenting Contested Racial Identities Among Self-Identified Latina/os, Asians, Blacks, and Whites

A contested racial identity refers to incongruence between personal racial identification and external racial categorization. For example, an individual may self-identify as White, but be perceived by most others as non-White. Documenting racial contestation is important because racialized experiences are shaped not only by the racial classification that individuals claim for themselves but also the external racial attributions placed on them by others. Focusing solely on monoracial identifying adults, this study answers three key questions about racial contestation: (a) How common is it? (b) Who is most likely to report experiencing it? and (c) How is it related to aspects of racial identity such as racial awareness, racial group closeness, and racial identity salience? Employing the 2006 Portraits of American Life Study, results suggest that reports of racial contestation among monoracial identifying adults are more common than some studies suggest (6% to 14%)—particularly among the fastest growing racial groups in the United States, including Latina/os and Asians—and that experiences of racial contestation are often associated with immigrant generation, ancestry, and phenotypical characteristics. Ordinal logistic regression analyses indicate that individuals who report experiencing racial contestation are no more aware of race in everyday life than other U.S. adults, but they feel less close to other members of the self-identified racial group and report lower levels of racial identity salience than their noncontested counterparts. These results point to a thinning of racial identity among the racially contested.

Transnational patterns among Asian American and Latina/o American children of immigrants from Southern California

ABSTRACT A growing literature has examined the prevalence of transnational engagement among children of immigrants. However, few studies have been equipped to analyse underlying dynamics that serve to impede or perpetuate transnational practices among them in the United States. In this article, we compare transnationalism narratives between 1.5- and second-generation children of immigrants to more fully adjudicate enduring transnational ties over time. Our analysis of 134 interviews from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study suggests that children of immigrants from Southern California conceptualise transnational experiences in diverse but remarkably similar ways. The meanings attached to transnational behaviours and identities employ certain patterns, and are often related to strength of kin-based ties, ethnic language fluency, and levels of structural access to the homeland. Moreover, findings indicate that the second-generation is nearly as transnationally engaged as the 1.5-generation. This provides novel but limited evidence in support of claims that transnational ties are sustained across generations.

Diversity in action: Interpersonal networks and the distribution of advice.

Does diversity beget the active dissemination of social support in the form of advice to others? Previous research by Robert Putnam suggests that individuals in compositionally diverse geographical areas become closed off from their social ties and less trusting of others, which are both antithetical to social support exchange. We argue, however, that studies of compositional diversity are ill-suited to reflect diversity as it is actually lived and experienced in social life. Drawing from the first nationally representative study with comprehensive indicators of interactional diversity in social life, we analyze self-reports of advice-giving across a variety of social roles. Results of regression analysis are consistent: greater interactional diversity is positively associated with advice-giving, whether the target is stranger, neighbor, close friend, or family member. These findings hold independent of important covariates such as reciprocity, sociability, and homophily. This research contributes to a growing literature set on identifying the unanticipated benefits of diversity in modern society. In sum, we call future research to consider not only diversity in structure, but also diversity in action.

Racing to Serve or Race-ing for Money? Hispanic-serving Institutions and the Colorblind Allocation of Racialized Federal Funding

It is often presumed that minority-serving institutions (MSIs)—colleges and universities with the mission or capacity to serve underrepresented students—operate with a mission to alleviate broad inequalities by race. Yet the degree to which this remains true for Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), the fastest growing subset of MSIs, is contested and unexplored systematically. In this study the authors briefly detail the founding of HSI as a racialized status and consider how colleges and universities designated as HSIs today are serving Latinx students with racialized federal funding. The historical process and criteria by which HSI was established as a racialized designation, the authors argue, continues to shape their racial logics. Through a content analysis of the population of successful Title V “Developing Hispanic-serving Institution” grant abstracts to the U.S. Department of Education (2009–2016), the authors find great consistency in how HSIs conceptualize their Latinx student populations but substantial variation in how they seek to “serve” Latinx students. In the large majority of cases (85 percent), Latinx students are not centered in HSIs’ Title V programmatic efforts, which are instead organized to serve their entire student bodies. Because HSI status was conferred primarily by Latinx student enrollments, and not a mission to serve Latinx students, dominant colorblind White logics frequently persist at HSIs. Consequently, Latinx educational inequalities are rarely explicitly addressed. In their quests to secure funding as minority serving institutions, we find that HSIs often fail to center the Latinx students who permit their very eligibility.

Racial Expropriation in Higher Education: Are Whiter Hispanic Serving Institutions More Likely to Receive Minority Serving Institution Funds?

Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) are colleges with 25 percent or higher Latinx student bodies. Categorization as HSI permits institutions to apply for restricted competitive federal grants that are meant to help alleviate Latinx educational inequalities. However, HSI designations have increased fivefold over recent decades, leading to greater competition between them for these racially designated resources. This is the first known study to investigate patterns of racialized resource allocation to this subset of colleges. Multivariate results indicate that HSIs with larger white and smaller black student bodies are more likely to receive competitive funds, whereas the proportion of Latinx and Asian students is unassociated with funding receipt. These findings point to important distinctions among racialized organizations. Despite their overarching categorical racial designations (e.g., Hispanic Serving Institutions), racialized organizations’ institutional proximities to whiteness and distance from blackness may still shape the distribution of opportunities and resources.

Ideological Whitening: does skintone shape colour-blind ideology adherence for Latina/os?

ABSTRACT Prominent theories of the US racial order contend that phenotypically light Latina/os will elevate to an honorary White category as a result of their socio-economic advantages over darker Latina/os. Accordingly, light Latina/os are presumed to adopt colour-blind racial ideology to cement their elevated racial status. This study is among the first to examine the relationship between skintone and Latina/os’ colour-blind ideology adherence with nationally representative data. I examine these relationships with data from the 2006 Portraits of American Life Study, and test the robustness of findings across two alternative national data sets: the 2014 General Social Survey, and the 2006 Latino National Survey. Across data sets, different measurement approaches, and time periods, this study finds no evidence that skintone shapes Latina/os’ levels of colour-blind ideology adherence. The study concludes by considering why the racial ideology of light Latina/os is non-concordant with their elevated socio-economic status in relation to darker Latina/os.