Machismo and Caballerismo Linked with Perceived Social Discrimination and Powerlessness in U.S. Latino Men

Concepts from the Threat Appraisal and Coping Theory, Precarious Manhood Theory, and Ambivalent Sexism suggest that U.S. Latino men who perceive social discrimination and powerlessness may respond with machismo beliefs that serve as coping responses to empower themselves and reassert their manhood. Machismo beliefs include both aggressive “traditional machismo” and gentlemanly family-focused “caballerismo.” Because past research has revealed that individuals respond to social abuse with anger, prompting them to feel empowered but less empathetic, we hypothesized that Latino men who perceive social discrimination combined with a sense of powerlessness would report more traditional machismo and less caballerismo. We also hypothesized that this three-variable sequence would be stronger for men with high rather than low in Latino identity, since discrimination would be a more personal threat to their identity and manhood. Participants included 1,530 U.S. Latinos who completed online surveys to report demographics (age, education, employment, sexual orientation, partner status, household size), perceived social discrimination, powerlessness, traditional machismo, caballerismo, and Latino identity. Mediational analyses confirmed the three-variable sequence in which powerlessness mediated associations between social discrimination and (more) aggressive machismo, and (less) gentlemanly caballerismo. Also as hypothesized, moderated mediational analysis revealed that these three-variable sequences were stronger for men with high rather than low Latino identity. With recent increases in social discrimination against U.S. Latinos, present results caution that men may respond to these challenges with increased aggressive patterns of traditional machismo.

Struggling to Preserve Home Language: The Experiences of Latino Students and Families in the Canadian School System

Latinos in Canada are receiving attention because of frequent poor performance in school. This phenomenon turns out to be connected to a number of basic problems that can only be understood through investigation of institutional processes with routine operations that may disadvantage certain minorities. This paper presents and discusses part of the data collected in a larger research project on Latino families and Canadian schools. Bilingual Latina researchers used participant observation and action research techniques to report on the home language practices of 45 Latino families and how the school’s routine processes influenced those practices. Findings include the following: (a) parents saw Spanish maintenance as a way to foster family unity, Latino identity, and professional advancement; (b) the strong assimilative pressures experienced by parents often resulted in their doubting the desirability of openly speaking Spanish at home; (c) because the children were losing their home language rapidly, the parents used a number of strategies; and (d) there are several things that parents would like to see happen that would enable them to maintain Spanish. Our findings indicate the necessity for schools to proactively recognize and build on the family’s cultural capital, including their home language.

Struggling to Preserve Home Language: The Experiences of Latino Students and Families in the Canadian School System

Latinos in Canada are receiving attention because of frequent poor performance in school. This phenomenon turns out to be connected to a number of basic problems that can only be understood through investigation of institutional processes with routine operations that may disadvantage certain minorities. This paper presents and discusses part of the data collected in a larger research project on Latino families and Canadian schools. Bilingual Latina researchers used participant observation and action research techniques to report on the home language practices of 45 Latino families and how the school’s routine processes influenced those practices. Findings include the following: (a) parents saw Spanish maintenance as a way to foster family unity, Latino identity, and professional advancement; (b) the strong assimilative pressures experienced by parents often resulted in their doubting the desirability of openly speaking Spanish at home; (c) because the children were losing their home language rapidly, the parents used a number of strategies; and (d) there are several things that parents would like to see happen that would enable them to maintain Spanish. Our findings indicate the necessity for schools to proactively recognize and build on the family’s cultural capital, including their home language.

Forging Political Identities and Becoming Citizens: The Political Preferences and Engagement of South American Immigrants in the United States and Spain

Research in the United States has emphasized the importance of anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic hostility to galvanize shared identities and a sense of linked fate that is electorally mobilized around the pan-ethnic Latino identity. With survey data on the electoral behavior of South American immigrants in the United States and Spain spanning a decade (2006-2018), this article gauges how critical hostility is for electoral mobilization. The findings suggest that—despite very different institutional settings, hostility levels, elite strategies, and political mobilization patterns—South American immigrants are forging remarkably similar patterns of political preferences and engagement across both sides of the Atlantic. The overtime and comparative perspective calls into question that hostility is the main driving force behind Latino electoral participation and block voting in the United States and prompts greater attention to the socioeconomic status of Latinos and mobilization by political parties.

Whose Rebellion was Punk in the 1990s?

While punk in the United States is often associated with white, male, suburban youth, the 1990s witnessed a dramatic increase in the vocal participation of women and Latinos in US punk bands. The all-Latino, Spanish-language band Los Crudos built a punk scene in the Chicago majority-Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen and went on to captivate the punk scene in the United States and internationally with their ferocious hardcore punk music and unapologetic assertion of Latino identity. The all-women band Spitboy as well as bands with women vocalists such as Anti-Product challenged patriarchy inside and outside the punk scene and fused the anger and energy of punk music with their own experiences of oppression and empowerment. The increasing and assertive participation of Latinos, women, and LGBTQ people in US punk generated responses ranging from supportive to hostile and sparked debate over the ideals and realties of punk values of unity and equality.

The role of bilingualism in Latino youth experiences of acculturation stress when living in an emerging Latino community

Latino youth experience unique stressors as they navigate two cultural contexts. While a substantial amount of research has been conducted investigating Latino youths’ experiences of acculturation, most have been conducted in cities with a substantial Latino community, with less research focusing on emerging communities, or areas with small, but growing cultural communities. The aim of this study was to understand Latino youths’ experiences of acculturation stressors when living in an emerging Latino community. To achieve this aim, 30 youth (ages 7–16) living in an emerging Latino community were recruited to participate in a creative-arts based research method in which they were placed in groups based on developmental stage and participated in six dialogue sessions. During sessions, youth were asked to paint a picture based on prompts and then discuss the topics that emerged in their paintings in small groups. Prompts were designed to illicit youths’ experiences with acculturation stress and Latino identity. Thematic analysis of qualitative data indicated that the role of language was featured prominently in youths’ experiences. In this paper, we discuss the role of bilingualism in multiple contexts in Latino youth experience of acculturation when living in an emerging Latino community. The results suggest that bilingualism is central to the identity of Latino youth in this context and may be essential to incorporate into interventions that aim to facilitate positive youth development among Latino youth living in emerging Latino communities.

Sonic Counterspaces: The Role of Music in the Latino College Experience at a Predominantly White Institution

A critical race theory framework was used to examine the role of music listening practices in the academic and social contexts of Latino college students enrolled at a predominantly White institution. An inductive thematic analysis examined themes in participants’ open-ended responses. Awareness of their Latino identity in music and the use of digital music players served to construct sonic counterspaces, an affirming auditory realm that is comprised of emotional, psychological, and physical space activated through intentional listening practices. Sonic counterspaces facilitated their academic experience and helped them navigate negative social encounters.