Subordinate Group Research Paper

This brings me to the certain unfairness, stereotypes, and myths about Hispanic/Latino culture. While growing up we experience some of these types of situations. When we think about a Hispanic/Latino person we think about tamales, tacos, rice and beans which is a stereotype. However, Susie Jans-Thomas wrote Beyond Tamales, Tacos, and Our Southern Neighbors: Exploring Latino Culture in Child and Young Adult Literature to show that there is more to them then just those expressions. I believe we have all experienced or witnessed racism, power abuse, and felt lost in one point of our lives. This just shows that we need to try to work harder and together more.

I have privileges unfathomable to family back in Mexico, and my mother warned me against taking these privilege for granted. Being born in America did not make me American, she told me, being First Generation American would present seemingly unbearable challenges. She offered advice that I followed to the letter until our first name was not the only thing we shared, until the voice inside my head was replaced with my mother’s.

They also have to deal with people calling them names because of their skin color or their birth place. “Americans also accuse Hispanics of stealing their jobs” (Ramos 53) because most Latinos that come here have a job. They also face seeing “racist graffiti on homes or on walls of buildings” (Plunkett 15) and they have to face hate crimes. Plunkett said that “Latinos sometimes get excluded from white communities” (39) because they are Hispanics. Ramos also said that “Latinos are blamed for serious problems the country faces” (195) like the fall of the twin towers. There are reasons for Americans to discriminate Latinos and reasons why they shouldn’t discriminate them.

Being a low-income Mexican-American woman has not been easy. I have to work twice as hard to get the same recognition, acknowledgment, and attention that a white male would get in our society. I am constantly reminded that I have no privilege and neither do my parents. I have lived in fear of my parents being deported and they have lived like prisoners in a country that offers unity and freedom. My accent has made it easy for others to discriminate and make fun of me. These issues have brought up many challenges while growing up.

My Hispanic identity and heritage is an important part of my identity because it has shaped my journey as student and guided me in discovering my passion in life. I strongly believe being the daughter of immigrant parents has pushed me to work harder as a student and has motivated me to search for ways to help my Hispanic community. Since my parents and the majority of my family are immigrants from Mexico, this unique position has exposed me to the reality of thousands of people who come to the country looking for the American Dream, but also the difficult obstacles they face in their daily lives. As a child, I witnessed how my Hispanic community lived in the shadows and were afraid to speak up when injustices occurred because of the inability to speak English and the lack of knowledge

Violence and discriminations against Mexican-Americans was experienced as negative affect that was organized in segregating our society in such places as the labor market, residential setting and in the educational system. Although many countries have overcome, name calling various ethnic groups they also struggled for equality and respect. However, people in America have placed a racial connotation in the minorities groups. Mexican Americans and Mexicans are one of the minorities in America that have been categorized and degrade to derogatory names. They have been considered lazy, dirty, unable to speak English and uneducated. Many people have a wrong image of the Mexican race because of the way they act and the way they dress therefore was assumed that all Mexicans are like that. Segregation has always been an obstacle that made an impact in our society and has change history with laws that outlaw any sort of discrimination towards others. Parents had an important role to changes that have been made in the history. The parents were the first ones to arrive to America because they wanted a better future for their children. Parents find the motivation in helping each other by supporting other parents to fight for their children’s right every step of the way. In the research I have done I will be addressing the many issues that the Mexican and Mexican Americans faced to earn the equality here in America in the labor market, residential

Heterosexism, according to Warren J. Blumenfeld, is the system of advantages given to heterosexuals based on the social construct of gender roles and heterosexual norms, while marginalizing and oppressing homosexuals and others who do not fit into the heterosexual culture (373). The enforcement of this system is known as heteronormality. This is seen in the binary system, which is a social construct that divides people into different strictly bordered categories organized by “social roles, values, stereotypes, and behavioral and attitudinal imperatives, expressions, and expectations” (Blumenfeld 373). Those who stick to the binary system, maintain power and privilege. People who may live in the binary system, but also intentionally

majority of Latino undocumented workers are presently part of the labor force in the United

Social science teaches that a person’s self identity is a reflection of that which other people put on the individual, in other words a person’s behavior steams more from what they see of themselves from someone else’s perspective and less from how they see themselves. In the case of the Mexicans, this concept holds true. From that, which has been studied thus far this semester, Mexicans/ Mexican Americans are good examples of this concept. Their sorted past has resulted in a new kind of Mexican American and perhaps a new kind of Mexican. Certainly the Mexicans American’s experience in this country has brought about some changes from the first generation of Mexicans who were born in this country to those who

The larger group was Dominated by all males, which is another thing I didn’t expect. You would think that the group would have at least one or two females in it, statistically speaking. The smaller group was female dominated with two females and a single male in it. I observed the male and he didn’t seem to follow his gender role4. This made me think because I have a gay friend and homosexual men seem to familiarize with females more easily than heterosexual males. Also I noticed a trend that most gay men spent most of their time being raised by their mother with a more distant or even non-existent father figure. It is probably not fair to make assumptions about the lone male in the group, but I’m assuming he fits in this stereotype5. The other thing I noticed about this group is that they all seemed to be equal; there wasn’t one that put themselves before the others.

Growing up I believed that being Hispanic meant being a particular shade of brown that had to be just right. I had no concept of colorism during my childhood and adolescents and had a meager understanding of racism and how it looked like to be discriminated against. Furthermore, less of understanding was diluted even further by my struggle with accepting my romantic and sexual orientation. The nuance of those identities and my many others left me exploring those intersections within myself than exploring the greater picture of social discourse. This all ignoring my lack access to information only found in higher education. Once I had access to this information and meet others that were like me and different than me, I starting learning that what it means to be Hispanic is vastly different than what I thought.

Discrimination is nothing new to our society or is it something that should be taken lightly and for many decades our Nation has endured many conflicts that have tested the will of Americans over the decades and it is evident that as we have become more diverse so too has our workforce. Although, we are in the twenty first century the goal is to understand why prejudice and discrimination is still so prevalent and how we can do better while trying to bring together our different backgrounds, skills, and experiences still has proven to be an issue that minorities are constantly fighting as they struggle to find there place in society. Through an array of well-educated researchers showing how diversity is nothing new to our society, but if we are to continue to grow and move forward we must be able to understand that with diversification we can foster a strong and inclusive economy that is built to last and nurture a nation that will continue to lead the world as standard setter.

The issue in this article can be explained by Social Identity Theory because there is an apparent notion of in-group favoritism versus out-group sexual discrimination. The goal of Social Identity Theory is to explain group relationships and conflict (Cable & Welbourne, 1994). People classify their social identities with characteristics such as gender, race, or ethnicity, and in this particular case there is a gender identity discrimination issue. Social Identity Theory helps explain people’s tendencies to see oneself as part of the group, often resulting in people viewing others as “us” and “them” (Foster, 2013). The degree to which individuals define themselves as part of the in-group depends on the fundamental principles of the organization’s

As many minorities seek to attain wealth and status in America they are strained to leave any cultural or traditional ways behind closed doors when they enter into the workplace. Many do this to avoid being excluded, and as an attempt to become more equal to other fellow work colleagues, also many feel that white "supremacy" still exists- even in a subtle way. Nonetheless, once one accomplishes such a difficult task, the obstacle of earning a substantial income to maintain a decent standard of living is still a grueling task. According to Professor Harris, a teacher of political science at San Jose State University, approximately 60% of jobs in America are obtained through personal relationships and associations. This notion demonstrates that because many non-minority groups own businesses, and they tend to hire relatives and the like -many minorities are often excluded from attaining the "better" position within a company, and because many minority families we not able to leave a legacy for their family members to carry on, many minorities often miss out on opportunities to also be able to create a legacy that can continue to thrive- and the cycle continues.

Minorities have a higher rate of unemployment than whites in America. Black unemployment in America rose “from 15.3 to 15.5 percent“ in March 2011, while only “7.9 percent of white workers were jobless” (Ross). The factors causing this lack of employment among minorities are explained as having to deal with education, age, ethnic-sounding names on job applications,