Dropping the Hyphen? Becoming Latino(a)-American through Racialized Assimilation

Abstract

Early assimilation theorists predicted the eventual loss of ethnic distinctiveness for immigrants in the United States. In this paper, the author not only questions the possibilities that Latino and Latina Americans have for losing their ethnic distinctiveness, but also proposes that these possibilities vary widely within the Hispanic population. The central question posed in this paper is: In addition to traditional predictors of assimilation, do experiences of discrimination also affect ethnic identification patterns for Hispanics? Based on the analysis of two data sets, the 1989 Latino National Political Survey and the 2002 National Survey of Latinos, the author provides evidence that Latino/a Americans who have experienced discrimination are less likely to self-identify as “Americans,” and more likely to self-identify with pan-ethnic or hyphenated American labels. The author contends that this is because experiences of discrimination teach some Latinos and Latinas that other citizens of the United States do not view them as “unhyphenated Americans.” The author further proposes that, through a process of racialized assimilation, these Latin American immigrants and their children are becoming Latino and Latina Americans.