Latina/o Whitening: Which Latinas/os Self-Classify as White and Report Being Perceived as White by Other Americans?
By Nicholas Vargas
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race (Forthcoming 2014)
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Summary
Some scholars argue that Latinas/os in the United States may soon become White, much like the supposed Whitening of Eastern European immigrant groups in the early 20th century. High rates of White racial identification on surveys among Latinas/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 Latinas/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 forty percent of Latinas/os sometimes self-identify as White, yet a much smaller proportion-only six percent-report being externally classified as White by others.
Moreover, logistic regression analyses suggest that light phenotypical features and having high levels of socioeconomic status increase the odds of reported external Whitening. Interestingly, phenotypically light Latina/os with low levels of socioeconomic status 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 Latina/o-White racial boundary. Results also indicate that many who report external Whitening do not prefer to self-identify as White.
In sum, multi-dimensional measures of racial classification indicate that only a very small minority of Latinas/os may be "becoming White" in ways that some previous researchers have predicted. When analyzing two central indicators of racialization-self-classification and reports of external classification-it appears that only a very small subset of Latina/os today may be "becoming White" in the ways that some previous researchers have forecasted. This leaves little evidence that the boundaries of Whiteness are steadily expanding to include the vast majority of Latina/os in the U.S. Of course, future studies will be necessary to consider whether or not a more diverse array of Latina/os may come to be recognized as White over time.
Nicholas Vargas is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at The University of Texas at Dallas