Understanding Stereotypes and Discrimination in the United States: The Latino Middle Class Experience
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Authors
Christman, Kathleen
Issue Date
2010
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
In the United States, the Latino middle class is growing. Now, more than ever,
one can see Latino men and women in all lines of work and careers in American society.
This study is an examination of the ways in which middle class or professional Latinos in
the United States experience discrimination and stereotyping, to understand the effects of
the encounters on the live of Latinos, and how one interprets and copes with those
experiences. This was investigated by in-depth interviews with eight middle class
Latinos from St. Louis area. My findings suggest that encounters with stereotypes and
discrimination cause Latinos to struggle with adjusting to U.S society and North
American people. This study also shows that encounters with discrimination cause
middle class Latinos to distance and distinguish themselves from Mexicans, Latino
immigrants, or working class Latinos in order to not be perceived as "Mexican, poor, and
uneducated." It was also common for the interviewees to then affirm the common
stereotypes of Latinos in the U.S. All in all, this study suggests that the interpretation of
a discriminatory incident as negative or as discrimination depends on factors of national
origin, U.S.-born vs. foreign-born Latinos, cultural background/socialization, race, class
standing, who the perpetrator is, if the discriminatory act or statement is blatant, direct,
and negative, and if the victim consciously rejects the label of discrimination.
Description
v, 111 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo, Mich. : Kalamazoo College.
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.