Is it possible to be white and latino?
9475242#16
The U.S. Hispanic media and the Latin American media are over represented by White Hispanic and Latino Americans and White Latin Americans, very often blond and blue-eyed, or green-eyed, particularly in "telenovelas" (soap operas). There tends to be an under-representation of non-white Hispanic and Latino Americans and non-white Latin Americans, amid claims that telenovelas, in particular, do not fully reflect the racial diversity of Hispanic and Latino Americans. For example, in the 2005 U.S. Hispanic telenovela "Olvidarte Jamas", white, blond, and blue-eyed Venezuelan American actress Sonya Smith portrayed Luisa Dominguez who is a poor mestiza woman; the actress had to wear a black wig to hide her obvious Caucasian appearance. Sonya Smith, however, was the first Hispanic actor to portray a Hispanic without stereotypical perception (portrayed as blond and blue-eyed Hispanic, not a Hispanic mestiza nor mulatta nor Mediterranean-looking Hispanic) in a Hollywood film "Hunted by Night", an English-language movie with an all-Hispanic cast.
White Hispanic and Latino Americans
40901730#5
Hispanic or Latino was the most commonly reported race or ethnic group in California other than White. Hispanics or Latinos may be of any race, but they report their race as either White or some other race in the vast majority of cases (see Relation between ethnicity and race in census results). They comprised 37.2 percent (13,752,743) of California's total population and comprised the majority of the population in eight counties. Of these counties, Imperial County reported the highest concentration (79.6 percent). Notably, Imperial County also borders Mexico. Of the ten counties which reported the highest concentration of Hispanics or Latinos, all but Monterey County were landlocked. On the other hand, the ten counties which reported the lowest concentrations of Hispanic or Latinos were also all landlocked. None of these counties have populations over 200,000 and their average population was 65,633. The county that reported the lowest concentration of Hispanics or Latinos was Trinity County (6.7 percent) with a population of just 13,711. Although San Diego County also borders Mexico, it nevertheless had a lower percentage of Hispanics or Latinos than nearby counties which don't.
California locations by race
2495537#1
The United States Census Bureau defines white people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa." Like all official U.S. racial categories, "White" has a "not Hispanic or Latino" and a "Hispanic or Latino" component, the latter consisting mostly of White Mexican Americans and White Cuban Americans. The term "Caucasian" is synonymous with "white", although the latter is sometimes used to denote skin tone instead of race. The inclusion of non-Europeans in the definition of "white" is controversial. Many of the non-European ethnic groups classified as white by the U.S. Census, such as Arab Americans, Jewish Americans, and Hispanics or Latinos, may not identify as or may not perceived to be, white.
White Americans
20134780#78
A typical Latino American family may have members with a wide range of racial phenotypes, meaning a Hispanic couple may have children who look white and African and/or Native American and/or Asian. Latino Americans have several self-identifications; most Latinos identify as white in terms of race, while others identify as black and/or Native American and/or Asian. Latinos who do not want to identify as one of those identify simply as Hispanic and/or "some other race" as their race.
Multiracial Americans
10895673#9
The media and some Hispanic community leaders in the United States refer to Hispanics as a separate group from all others, as well as "whites" and the "white majority". This may be because "white" is often used as shorthand for "non-Hispanic white". Thus, the non-Hispanic population and some Hispanic community leaders refer to white Hispanics as non-Hispanic whites and white Hispanic actors/actresses in media are mostly given non-Hispanic roles while, in turn, are given the most roles in the U.S. Hispanic mass media that the white Hispanics are overrepresented and admired in the U.S. Hispanic mass media and social perceptions. Multiracial Latinos have limited media appearance; critics have accused the U.S. Hispanic media of overlooking the brown-skinned indigenous and multiracial Hispanic and black Hispanic populations by over-representation of blond and blue/green-eyed white Hispanic and Latino Americans (who resemble Scandinavians and other Northern Europeans), and also light-skinned mulatto and mestizo Hispanic and Latino Americans (often deemed as white persons in U.S. Hispanic and Latino populations if achieving the middle class or higher social status), especially some of the actors on the telenovelas.
The official racial status of Mexican Americans has varied throughout American history. From 1850 to 1920, the U.S. Census form did not distinguish between whites and Mexican Americans. In 1930, the U.S. Census form asked for "color or race," and census enumerators were instructed to write "W" for white and "Mex" for Mexican. In 1940 and 1950, the census reverted its decision and made Mexicans be classified as white again and thus the instructions were to "Report "white" (W) for Mexicans unless they were definitely of full Indigenous Indian or other non-white races (such as Black or Asian)."
During periods in U.S. history when racial intermarriage wasn't legally acknowledged, and when Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were uniformly allotted white status, they were legally allowed to intermarry with what today are termed "non-Hispanic whites", unlike Blacks and Asians. They were allowed to acquire U.S. citizenship upon arrival; served in all-white units during World War II; could vote and hold elected office in places such as Texas, especially San Antonio; ran the state politics and constituted most of the elite of New Mexico since colonial times; and went to segregated white schools in Central Texas and Los Angeles. Additionally, Asians were barred from marrying Mexican Americans because Mexicans were legally white.
Definitions of whiteness in the United States
6677413#58
According to a study by Dr. Paul Brest, Hispanics or "Latinos" include immigrants who are descendants of immigrants from the countries comprising Central and South America. In 1991, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans made up 80% of the Latino population in the United States. Latinos are disadvantaged compared to White Americans and are more likely to live in poverty. They are the least well educated major ethnic group and suffered a 3% drop in high school completion rate while African Americans experienced a 12% increase between 1975–1990. In 1990, they constituted 9% of the population, but only received 3.1% of the bachelors's degrees awarded. At times when it is favorable to lawmakers, Latinos were considered "white" by the Jim Crow laws during the Reconstruction. In other cases, according to Paul Brest, Latinos have been classified as an inferior race and a threat to white purity. Latinos have encountered considerable discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, and education. Brest finds that stereotypes continue to be largely negative and many perceive Latinos as "lazy, unproductive, and on the dole." Furthermore, native-born Latino-Americans and recent immigrants are seen as identical since outsiders tend not to differentiate between Latino groups.
Affirmative action in the United States
9475242#12
In popular use, "Hispanic" and "Latino" are often mistakenly given racial values, usually non-white and mixed race, such as half-caste or mulatto, in spite of the racial diversity of Hispanic and Latino Americans. Hispanics commonly draw ancestry from European, Native American, and or African populations in different proportions; some Hispanics are largely of European ancestry, and some are predominantly of Native Central or South American Indian origin, or African origins, but a large number of Hispanics are descended from an admixture of two, three or more origins. Paradoxically, it is common for them to be stereotyped as being exclusively non-white due merely to their Spanish-speaking country of origin, regardless of whether their ancestry is European or not. Judith Ortiz Cofer noted that appellation varies according to geographical location, observing that in Puerto Rico she was considered white, but in the United States she was considered a "brown person."
White Hispanic and Latino Americans
11003095#117
Avant-Mier continues: "The case of Andy Russell also reminds us of social structures that often required Latino/as to perform whiteness in order to have any chance of success in the mainstream music business." (Avant-Mier, 59) Deborah Pacini Hernández states as much on page 10 of her book "Oye Como Va!: Hybridity and Identity in Latino Popular Music" when she makes the same casual argument: "Latinos who could 'pass' as white could access the mainstream market, although only if they hid their ethnicity by changing their names, as did Andy Russell and Ritchie Valens, respectively born Andrés Rábago Pérez and Ricardo Valenzuela."
Andy Russell (singer)
595035#17
In 2003, Baker was the subject of some controversy when he stated that "black and Hispanic players are better suited to playing in the sun and heat than white players." Baker, defending his beliefs, later said, "What I meant is that blacks and Latinos take the heat better than most whites, and whites take the cold better than most blacks and Latinos. That's it, pure and simple. Nothing deeper than that." Similar comments in 2015, when he suggested his Washington Nationals should field more players of color as "you've got a better chance of getting some speed with Latin and African-Americans," also generated controversy. Baker said of the comments, "I'm not being racist. That's just how it is."
Dusty Baker
5966720#3
According to Qingwen, "the impact of television portrayals of minorities is significant because of the ability of television images to activate racial stereotypes and the power exerted by visual images". Non-Hispanic white Americans who lack real life contact with Hispanic or Latino individuals are forced to rely heavily on television and film, their only source of exposure to this ethnic group, as the foundation of perceiving Hispanic and Latino individuals. If nearly all of the few representations of these individuals are negatively stereotyped, non-Hispanic white individuals are likely to carry this perception into real life, embedding that stereotypical image of Hispanic and Latino individuals into their conscience. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory gives insight into how these stereotypical character representations are carried into the real world, pointing to the way in which individuals' perceptions are limited to what they have experienced. Those who lack real life contact with the stereotyped individuals are unable to counter the television portrayals of this ethnic group with a more realistic, less negative image.
Stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States