Running Head: THE LATINO IDENTITY IN AMERICA

TheLatinoIdentityinAmericaandAmericanHigherEducation
JenniferMigliozzi
SalemStateUniversity

Introduction
TheLatinocommunity,oftenreferredtoastheHispaniccommunity,isonethathasa
complexidentityintheUnitedStates.Onereasonforthiscomplexityisduetothefactthatthe

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

termLatinoisinclusiveofalargegroupofpeople.Typically,thelargeragroupofpeople,the
morediversityyouwillfindwithinthegroup.ThisnotionistruetheratherlargeLatino
communityofmorethan53millionpeopleintheUnitedStates(Planas,2013).TheLatino
communityisonethatisprimarilydefinedasbeingcomposedofpeoplewhooriginatedfroma
Spanishspeakingcountry(Planas,2013).
Anotherreasonthiscomplexityexistsisduetothetwowordsthatareusedtodescribe
thissamecommunity.Thissamegroupofpeopleutilizesthedifferentterms,Latinoand
Hispanic,fordifferentreasons.ThesetermsareLatinoandHispanicandtheyareoftenused
interchangeably.Whileusedinterchangeably,theydosharethesamemeaning.Hispanicrefersto
speakersoftheSpanishlanguage.Latinoreferstothosewhohavecantracetheirancestryto
Spanishcountryorcountries(Rodriguez,2014).ThetermHispanicspecificallyreferstothe
Spanishlanguage,whileLatinoismoreinclusiveofthosewhomaynotfluentlyspeakSpanish,
buthaverootsinoneormoreSpanishspeakingcountries(Rodriguez,2014).Withinthe
communitythereisnotastrongagreementonwhichtermispreferred,whileitshouldbenoted
thatLatinohadbeenmorewidelyusedasoflateduetothegreaterinclusivityitprovides
(Rodriguez,2014).
Finally,thereisauniversallackofsupportanduseofeitheroftheterms.Peopleofthe
Latinocommunityoftenchoosetodescribethemselvesusingtermsandidentifiersthataremore
specifictotheirculture.Theytypicallyidentifythemselvesusingtheirfamilyscountryoforigin
(Planas,2013;Rodriguez,2014).Forexample,someonewhosefamilyoriginatesfromMexico
wouldcallthemselvesMexican.Becausethisdistinctionofcountryoforiginisoftenmadewhen
identifyingoneself,thosewhoidentifywithintheLatino/Hispaniccommunitycanexperience

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

theiridentityinmymanydifferentwaysandthereforeexperiencemanydifferentpathsof
identitydevelopment.
LatinoIdentityDevelopmentTheory
ThecomplexitiesoftheLatinoidentitycanbereflectedinLatinoidentitydevelopment
theories.PlacidaV.Gallegos,PhDandBernardoM.Ferdman,PhD.developedoneprominent
theoryentitledLatinoandLatinaIdentityOrientations.GallegosandFerdmandistinguishsix
specificLatinoidentityorientations.Eachorientationisdescribedusingsixcategoriesthatcover
viewsofraceandthechallengesandbehaviorsthatcomewithsuchviews.Identityorientation
canbedefinedashowonecreatestheiridentityinrelationtoothers.Thesixidentityorientations
thattheynameareLatinoIntegrated,LatinoIdentify,SubgroupIdentified,LatinoasOther,
Undifferentiated/DenialandWhiteIdentified(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Foreachof
theseorientationsthetheoristsprovideinformationonhowsomeonewiththatorientation
establishestheirviewsofthemselvesandothers,aswellaswhatchallengesthisidentityfaces,
environmentswheretheidentityiscreatedandhowbehaviorisformed(Wijeyesinghe&
Jackson,2012,p.66).
GallegosandFerdmanhavebrokendownthisinformationintoninecategoriesto
illustratetheorientations.TheninecategoriesareLens,Identityas/prefer,Latinosareseen,
Whitesareseen,FramingofRace,KeyChallenge,MostAdaptivefor,BehavioralManifestations
andLimitations(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Lenscanbedefinedasonesoutlookor
theviewofwhichtheyperceivetheiridentity.Identityas/preferisthepreferredwayonechoses
toidentify(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Latinosareseendescribeshowoneseesthe
Latinocommunityasawhole.Inthiscategoryonemayhavedistinctiveviewsofselectgroups

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

withinthecommunity(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Forexample,onemaybe
acceptingofsomesubgroupsoftheLatinoidentity,butnotofothers.Whitesareseendescribe
howoneviewsthosewhoidentifyaswhite(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Framingof
Racespeakstotheimportanceofracetotheiridentity,aswellashowracedefinestheir
navigationandviewofotheridentitiesintheirlives(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Key
Challengereferstoadominantchallengethatoneofthedescribedorientationwillexperiencein
relationtotheiridentity(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).MostAdaptivefordescribes
whattypeofsocialenvironmenttheidentitywouldbestsuitedforonetoadoptthisorientation
(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).BehavioralManifestationsissimplybehavior(s)that
occursinresponsetoonesutilizationofanorientation(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).
Thefinalcategory,Limitations,expressesarea(s)ofchallengewheninteractingwithothersthat
someoneofthisorientationcanexperience(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Unlikeother
identitytheoriesthatsolelyfocusesonhowonedevelopsanidentityGallegosandFerdmans
theorydetailsthehowthatidentityviewsotheridentities,aswellashowitinfluencesbehavior.
GallegoandFerdmanstheoryalsoacknowledgestheinfluencesocialenvironmentscanhaveon
onesviewsandbehavior,aswellasoverallidentity.TheMostAdapativeforcategoryexpresses
thatinfluenceinitstitle(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).ForsomeLatinos,their
orientationmayberesultofthemsurvivingormosteasilynavigatingtheenvironmentthey
livein.GallegoandFerdmanstheorypaintsavividpictureofthesixorientationsthatare
commonlyfoundtheLatinoidentityandallowsforonetoeasilyimaginehowonepersonofa
specificorientationwouldinteractwithothersandtheirenvironments.

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

TofullyunderstandGallegosandFerdmanstheory,itisbestspecificallyreviewatleast
oneoftheirsixorientationsandlookathowtheorientationisdepictedintheninecategories.
TheOrientationthispaperwilldelveintoisSubgroupIdentified,sinceithasbeenpreviously
notedthatitisanorientationthatmanyLatinosutilized.Withthisorientationtheprimary
identitythatonemostrelatestoandrecognizesthemselvesaswithistheircountryoforiginor
LatinoSubgroup(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.70).Inthisorientationthelensthatone
viewstheirownidentityinisnarrow.Theychoosetoidentifyasorprefertoidentityastheir
ownsubgroupoftheLatinoidentity(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Theydonot
identifybroadlyasaLatino,butonlywithintheirspecificsubgroupoftheLatinocommunity,
suchasMexican.RegardingtheirhowtheyseeotherLatinostheyseetheirgroupasbeingokay,
butothersubgroupsonlymightokay(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Theyare
acceptingoftheirspecificsubgroupandmayormaynotbeacceptingand/oropentoothersub
groupsoftheLatinocommunity.Inthisorientationwhiteareseenasnotcentraltotheiridentity
(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Theremaybeinstanceswhenwhitesareseenasbarriers
orblockerstotheirsubgroup,butgenerallytheyarenotseenasacentralwhosomeoneoftheir
orientationviewsthemselves.Howapersonframesraceisalsonotcentral,sincethenationality
orcountryoforiginofwhichsomeonebelongstocomesfirstintermsoftheiridentity
(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Akeychallengewithinthisorientationishavinga
balancedviewoftheirsubgroup(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Itmaybedifficultfor
someoneofthisorientationtoviewtheirsubgroupasawhole,includinganynegativeaspectsof
thesubgroupsidentityandculture.Forthisreasontheremaybegapsinhowsomeonenotonly
envisionstheirsubgroup,buthowtheyenvisiontheiridentity.Thisidentityorientationismost

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

adaptivetothosewhoarelivinghomogenousenvironments,whereinteractionswiththosewho
areunlikethemarelimited(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Thistypeofenvironment
allowstheindividualtocultivatetheirviewoftheirsubgroupwithoutexperiencingpushback
fromothersubgroupsorevenfromthosewhoseareinanotheridentityorientation.Abehavior
thatismanifestedduetothisorientationisthepreservationoftheculturefromtheircountryof
origin(Wijeyesinghe&Jackson,2012,p.67).Thosewhoidentifywiththisorientationcanbe
limitedwhentheydoencountergroupsorenvironmentswherediversityispresent(Wijeyesinghe
&Jackson,2012,p.67).Ifalliesareneeded,itmaybedifficultforsomeoneofthisorientationto
formallieswiththoseofotherLatinosubgroupssincetheiridentityissospecifictotheir
particularsubgroup.ByreviewingthisSubgroupIdentifiedorientationoneisabletoseehow
thisorientationinfluencesoneviewsandexperiencesinregardstoidentity(Wijeyesinghe&
Jackson,2012,p.70).
GallegosandFerdmansLatinoandLatinaOrientationTheorydemonstratesthe
complexitiesoftheLatinoidentityandhowpivotalthatidentityistodailyinteractionsand
encounters.ItshowsthatnotonlyaretheremanydifferentorientationsthataLatinocanutilize
tocreateandformtheiridentity,buttheremanywaysinwhichsomeoneofaLatinoidentitycan
experiencerace.Itexpressesthatthewayoneexperiencesracecanaffecttheirdailybehaviors
andinteractionswithothers.
ThetheoriesthatdescribeBlackandWhiteidentitydevelopmentdonotoutlinevarious
orientationsormultipleidentitiesthatonecanhaveassomeonewhoidentifiesasblackorwhite.
Ingeneraltheyaremorestraightforwardtheoriesthatconsistofafewstagesthatonegoes
throughwhenformingtheirracialidentity.ForexampleBaileyW.JacksonIIIsBlackIdentity

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

DevelopmentModelconsistsoffivestages:Nave,Acceptance,Resistance,Redefinitionand
Internalization.Similarly,RitaHardimansWhiteIdentityDevelopmentModelalsoconsistof
fivestagesthatbearastrikingresemblancetoJacksons:LackofSocialConsciousness,
Acceptance,Resistance,RedefinitionandInternalization(Hardiman&Jackson,1997).Ineach
ofthesedevelopmentaltheoriestheindividualbeginsunawareofthesocializedsources
influencestheiridentity.Theythenmoveintotheacceptancestage,wheretheystarttoacceptthe
socializedbehaviorandideastheyhavebeentaught(Hardiman&Jackson,1997).Followingthe
acceptancestage,theybecomeresistanttothesocializedbehaviorandideastheyhavebeen
taughtandstarttoseewheresuchbehaviorisanagentofoppression(Hardiman&Jackson,
1997).Thenextstagetheyenterisredefinition,wheretheindividualhastheopportunityto
definetheiridentityoutsideofthesocializedbehaviortheyhavebeentaught(Hardiman&
Jackson,1997).Thefinalstageisinternalization,whichhastheindividualreconcilingtheir
newlyredefineidentitywiththesocializedbehaviorandoppressiveenvironmentthatthey
continuetoexperience(Hardiman&Jackson,1997).HardimansandJacksonstheoryareall
encompassingofthewhiteandblackidentity.InHardimanstheorytherearenotseparatestages
forsomeonewhoidentifiesaswhiteandIrishversussomeonewhoiswhiteandEnglish.Asit
doesnotdistinguishdifferencesinidentitydevelopmentforsomeonewhoidentifiesasKenyan
andblackandsomeonewhoisNigerianandblack,thesamecanbesaidofJacksonstheory.
ThislackofseparationfromcountryoforigininHardimansandJacksonstheoriesisoneofthe
maindifferencesbetweentheirtheoriesandGallegosandFerdmanstheoryofLatinoandLatina
Orientations.ThisdifferenceamongsttheBlackandWhitedevelopmenttheoriesandtheLatino
developmenttheoryexpressesthediversityofidentitiesandexperiencesintheLatino

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

community.AnotherdifferencefoundinHardimansandJacksonstheoriesisthelackof
acknowledgementofhowspecificsocialenvironmentscaninfluenceonesidentitydevelopment.
WhileGallegosandFerdmanstheoryreferschallengesonemayexperienceinanenvironment
andwhatenvironmentanorientationwouldbemostadaptivefor,HardimanandJacksondonot
specificallyreferhowaspecificenvironmentwouldinfluenceidentitydevelopment.These
differencesshowthattheLatinocommunityasawholeexperiencestheiridentitydevelopmentin
awaythatisunlikethoseofotheridentities,specificallytheblackidentityandthewhiteidentity.
Overall,itdemonstratesthatthewhilethoseofwhiteandblackidentitieswillexperienceidentity
developmentsimilarlytothosethatsharetheiridentity,thoseofLatinoidentitiescanexperience
averyindividualizeddevelopment.
TheUSCensusanditsCreationoftheLatinoIdentity
OntheUnitedStatesCensusLatinoandHispanicarenotlistedasoptionsforoneto
checkoff.TheRacecategorieslistedontheUSCensus,astheyweredefinedin1997,are
White;BlackorAfricanAmerican;AmericanIndianorAlaskanNative;Asian;and
NativeHawaiianorPacificIslander(UnitedStatesCensusBureau,2013).TheCensusBureau
suggestonitswebsitethatthosewhoidentifywithintheLatinocommunitytoselectWhiteas
theirraceandthenidentifytheirethnicityasHispanicorLatino(UnitedStatesCensusBureau,
2013).Finally,theyareaskedtoprovidetheircountryoforiginwiththecategorieslistedas
follows,Mexican,MexicanAmerican,Chicano;PuertoRican;Cuban;andanother
Hispanic,Latino,orSpanishorigin(UnitedStatesCensusBureau,2013).FormanyLatinos,
though,thelackofhavingtheirownracialcategorymaynotbeasubstantialirritationorevena
bother.AccordingtoarecentlyconductedPewResearchCentersurvey,themajorityidentify

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

themselvesasLatinoorHispanicontheUSCensusdonotusethattermtoidentify
themselves.Insteadtheyidentifythemselvesusingtheirfamilyscountryoforigin.
HowLatinosareidentifiedandlabeledintheUSCensusisimportantbecausetheUS
CensusattemptstousethemostcommonlyutilizedtermstodescribetheAmericanpopulation.
ByhavingLatinosselecttheirraceasWhite,theUSgovernmentisgroupingthemintoa
categorythatmaynotevenrelatetohowoneoftheLatinocommunityidentifies.Whilesome
LatinosdoidentifyasWhite,notallofthemdo.Thedifferenceisidentitydevelopmenttheory
betweenLatinosandWhitesshowcaseshowdifferenttheseidentitiescanbe.HavingLatinosfill
outtheUSCensusinsuchawaycouldbemisidentifyingalargesectorofthispopulationand
thereforenottrulyexpressingand/orrepresentingthispopulation.Additionally,havingLatinos
selecttheircountryoforiginassecondissendingthemessagethattheircountryoforiginis
secondaryintheiridentity,whenformanythatisnotthecase.Forotherstheircountryoforigin
maynotbecentraltoonesidentity.ThelanguageusedontheUSCensussetstheprecedentfor
howtheAmericanpopulationasawholereferstodifferentpopulations.Ifitisnotaccurately
portrayingapopulation,thentheoverallUSpopulationmaynothaveanaccurateunderstanding
ofthatpopulation.WhileitisdifficulttoreallypinpointtheHispanic/Latinopopulation,dueto
thevariationsinthisidentity,theUSCensusdoesnotseemtobehelpingmattersbytheway
theyaskthispopulationtoidentifyitself.Additionally,itmayaddingtothedisparityof
identificationinthispopulationduetothewaytheUSCensusaskLatinos/Hispanicstoidentify
themselves.
ThetermHispanicwasfirstlistedontheUSCensus1977(FederalRegister,1995;
Rodriguez,2014).TheUSCensususeofthetermisoneofthereasonsthatmanyintheLatino

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communitydonotwishusethetermHispanic(Rodriguez,2014).Theybelievethatitislabel
thatwasgiventothem,ratherthanonethattheychoose.Theyrefusetouseitbecausethey
considerittobeaderogatory,governmentmadeterm(Rodriguez,2014).Thereareothersinthe
community,though,whodisagreewiththisreasoning.JustastheLBGTQcommunityhastaken
backthetermQueer,manyintheLatino/HispaniccommunitybelieveusingthetermHispanic
allowsthemtodothesame.Theyaretakingownershipofthetermandembracingitastheirown
(Rodriguez,2014).
TheGrowingLatino/HispanicStudentPopulation
Forthissection,thetermHispanicwillbeused,asthatwasthetermthatwasemployed
inthisresearch.HigherEducationprofessionalsmustbeawareoftheLatino/Hispanic
communitybecauseitmakesupagrowingpopulationofstudentswithintheUnitedStates
educationsystem.CaliforniaisjustoneexampleofastatewheretheHispanicpopulationis
growing.Researchers project that the Hispanic population will essentially make up the majority
of Californias high school graduates between the years of 2019-2020 (Western Interstate
Commission for Higher Education, 2013). A key factor to holding this majority status of
Californias high school graduates will depend on the number of students who actually graduate.
Fortunately, recent reports suggest a positive growth in the number of Californias Hispanic high
school graduates. In 2013 the total number of high school graduates increased to 80% of the high
school population (Cesar, 2014). The Los Angeles Unified School district, which is identified as
the second larges school district in the United States, saw an increase of Hispanic/Latino
graduates (Cesar, 2014). Their graduation rate improved by 1.2% (Cesar, 2014). This bumped
their total number of Latino high school graduates to 67.5% (Cesar, 2014). Looking more
broadly at the total number of Hispanic/Latino high school graduates, an increase is seen as well.

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

11

In 2014 the Hispanic/Latino graduation rate was 76.4% (CA Dept of Education, 2015). That rate
increased by 0.7% in 2015, while the overall the Hispanic/Latino high school graduation was
75.7% (CA Dept of Education, 2015). This growing rate of Hispanic/Latino high school
graduates may be representative of a growing trend in Hispanic/Latino college enrollment.
The trend nationally has shown an increase in Hispanic college enrollment. In fact
Hispanics now surpass Whites in college enrollment. According to data released in 2012, 49% of
Hispanics aged 18-24 who had completed high school were enrolled in college, while 47% of
whites within the same demographic were enrolled in the United States (Lopez & Fry, 2013).
According to U.S. Census data by the Pew Hispanic Center from 2011, the actual of number of
Hispanics aged 18 to 26 enrolled in college was two million (Fry & Lopez, 2012). Most notably,
this number made Hispanics the largest minority group enrolled in college (Fry & Lopez, 2012).
StrategiesforSupportingtheLatino/HispanicStudent
Student affairs professionals must begin to develop strategies and practices that will best
serve this incoming and growing group of Latino/Hispanics students. While the identities of the
Latino population are varied, one thing that seems to unite the community is the Spanish
language. Spanish speakers in the United States are projected to increase by 4 million up to 43
million speakers in the year 2020 (Lopez & Gonzalez-Barrera, 2013). Hispanic Spanish speakers
will make up the majority of this Spanish speaking population with a projection falling between
37.5 million and 41 million in 2020 (Lopez & Gonzalez-Barrera, 2013). One strategy would be
to encourage current and upcoming student affairs professionals to begin to learn Spanish.
Encouraging professionals who do not already know the language to learn Spanish is way that
student affairs professionals can begin to better serve this population. Not only would this help
and improve communication with Latino/Hispanics students, it would also be beneficial to

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

12

communicating to the families of these students. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have

important college related documents and materials, such as housing applications and financial
aid forms, also available in Spanish to better serve this population. Having a bilingual staff that
reflects the population of students at an institution would also empower students to choose what
language that would like to speak in different situations. Instead of forcing them to pick English,
students are able to pick the language they are most comfortable with and which they feel would
be best to use to express themselves. Latinos are a growing population of college students and it
only makes sense for student affairs professionals to be able to communicate the language they
speak, whether that is English, Spanish or a mixture often referred to as Spanglish.
Manycollegeshaveorganizations,suchasALANA(African,Latino(a),Asian,and
NativeAmerican)organizationsorstudentcenters,suchasdiversitycenters,thataresupport
sevicesopentostudentstoexpress,questionandengageintheiridentity.Whilesuch
organizationsandcentersdogreatworkinsupportingthoseofminorityandnonprivileged
identities,itisimportantforstudentaffairsprofessionalstorememberthattheseorganizations
areservingandsupportingavarietyofidentities,whomayneedtobesupportedindifferent
ways.Studentaffairsprofessionalsmustnotbecomecomplacentwiththeestablishmentofsuch
centersandbeawarethatnotonesizefitsallwhenitcomestoidentitysupportanddevelopment.
Forexample,anALANAcentermayservebothAfricanAmericanandLatinostudents,but
theoryreflectsthatdevelopmentofeachtheseidentitiescanbeverydifferent.Unlikeother
identities,theLatinoidentityisveryuniquetotheindividual,whooftenfeelsmostconnectedto
theircountryoforiginthanotherpiecesoftheiridentity.AsGallegosandFerdmansLatinoand
LatinaIdentityOrientationstheoryexpresses,thesocialenvironmentthataLatinolivesin
influencesthedevelopmentoftheLatinoidentity.SotheidentityandorientationthatoneLatino

The Latino Identity in America and American Higher Education

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studentmaybeworkingthrough,maybeverydifferentfromanotherLatinostudent,depending
ontheirbackgroundandsocialenvironment.Professionalsshouldbemindfulofthese
differences.Mostimportantly,professionalsshouldlistentostudentsandhowtheyexpresstheir
identity.SincetheLatinoidentityisonethatisgrowingbothintheUnitedStatesasawholeand
intheUnitedStateseducationsystem,theLatinoidentityisonethatisalsoevolving.Some
studentsmayexperienceacombinationofGallegosandFerdmansorientations,whilesomemay
notfitneatlyintoanyoftheorientations.ProfessionalsshouldseektobeeducatedontheLatino
identityanditsdevelopment,aswellasonthecultureoftheLatinopopulationfoundattheir
institution.Overall,studentaffairsprofessionalsshouldnotassumeanythinginregardstothe
Latino.Theyshouldaskstudentshowtheyidentify,insteadofthrowingouttermsoridentities,
suchasHispanic,thatmaynotbeaccuratetoastudentsexperience.Unliketheoftenhardtofit
boxesoftheUSCensus,studentaffairsprofessionalswanttobeinclusiveofallstudentsand
theiridentities.Througheducationandactivelistening,studentaffairsprofessionalscanworkto
besupportersofLatinoidentitydevelopmentandtheLatinocommunity.

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