How Some Latinos Become White: Phenotype, Prejudice, and Policy Preferences

• In Event: Skin-tone, Phenotype, and Prejudice

Abstract

The majority of scholarship on racial policy attitudes derives from the study of white attitudes, and finds their opposition to policies such as affirmative action is largely driven by anti-black prejudice. Scholars studying Latino racial policy attitudes find initial evidence showing measures of anti-black prejudice correlate with affirmative action opposition among Latinos as well (Krupnikov & Piston, 2016; Lopez & Pantoja, 2004). However, we have yet to fully investigate the mechanisms driving this dynamic for Latinos.
The literature on intergroup competition shows that the struggle for resources among groups has consequences for intergroup relations; often leading to antagonism and prejudice from one group towards another, usually on the part of the dominant group towards the minority group (Alvarez & Bedolla, 2004; Bobo, 1983; Blumer, 1958). This is the case regardless of whether the competition involves realistic threats to a dominant group’s resources (Sherif, 1961) or perceived threats (Quillian, 1995; Sherif, 1966: 15). Furthermore, researchers show that dominant groups work to maintain and justify prejudiced beliefs, which then act as a means of accepting a social order that grants advantages to the dominant group (Sidanius & Pratto 1999).
These theoretical frameworks largely derive from the study of intergroup conflicts between whites and minority groups, (mainly blacks and immigrants), and make sense in this context. But this seem a puzzling explanation when applied to Latinos. For one, despite their growing numbers, Latinos are not a dominant group in the United States. Second, scholars find evidence that Latinos and blacks band together to advance policy areas of mutual interest (Rocha, 2007). Likewise, the policy area of affirmative action holds advantages for both blacks and Latinos yet Latinos consistently lag in support of the policy. This research asks why Latinos exhibit such lukewarm attitudes (and sometimes even high opposition) towards a policy designed to benefit them as a group, such as affirmative action (Citrin, 1995).
This paper presents evidence that the main driver of Latino attitudes towards racial policies such as affirmative action is not interests, but identity. I argue that a subset of Latinos seek to not only set themselves apart from competing minority groups in the U.S., (specifically blacks), but also seek to identify themselves with “whiteness”, even to the point of adopting policy preferences contradicting Latino interests.
Researchers show that identifying as white in the context of the U.S. bestows real advantages (Frank, Akresh, and Lu 2010). This project finds initial evidence that Latinos who possess the phenotypical appearance of being white not only identify as such, but also show greater anti-black prejudice and greater opposition to affirmative action policies than Latinos with darker phenotypes. These findings have significant policy implications as Latinos continue to become an important and influential force in U.S. politics.

Author

• Eduardo Salinas, University of Illinois at Chicago