Gender and Ethnic Identity among Chicanos

The study of ethnic background and gender reveals differences and similarities in the lives of women and men from group to group. [1] However, it is commonly thought that different ethnic groups vary in their conceptions of masculinity and femininity. A major assumption in the sociology of gender is that race or culture is a primary determinant of differences in gender role identity. The gender identity of both black men and women and Hispanic men and women is commonly explained in terms of their historical and cultural heritage. Black men and women are frequently described as less sex typed than white men and women, and Hispanics are more strongly sex typed. These descriptions are based on implicit assumptions about the ethnic and cultural differences in the development of gender. Because research on gender and ethnicity is in its infancy, the assumption that there are substantial ethnic differences in gender has not been tested with comparative data. [2] It is striking that in the burgeoning literature on both gender and ethnicity, little attention is devoted specifically to the acquisition of identity on the part of Chicanas and Chicanos. Nor, for that matter, is identity as a specific topic considered in the recently published full-length works on Chicanas. [3] Intuitively, it makes sense to say that what it means to be a woman would vary according to whether one is Chicana, black, or white. However, the assumptions underlying this common sense notion have not been examined, nor has it been conceptually specified. Expressions of Chicano ethnic identity have characterized the past decade of the Chicano experience, and many of these expressions have been articulated by the women of La Raza. We know a great deal about our ethnic heritage, about our ethnic presence in America, but we know very little either about how our ethnicity contributes to our conceptions of ourselves as women and men or about how our conceptions of women and men contribute to our ethnic identity. An advanced society such as ours contains many crisscrossing and often conflicting interests, and what complicates the situation is that we as individuals have multiple memberships. [4] It is possible that one source of identity will dominate the others. Questions can be asked concerning a person's primary identification from among group memberships. What will he or she say in answer to the question, "Who are you? " man or woman, Chicano, Mexicano, Latino? The purpose of this paper is to examine conceptual and empirical issues surrounding the social identity of Chicanas. The basic question being addressed is how ethnicity and gender are reflected in the social identity of Chicanas, and for comparative purposes, Chicanos. The intent is not to test, but to clarify both data and theory by examining major perspectives on gender and ethnic identity and their application to Chicanos, by indicating the limitations of prevailing approaches, and by suggesting alternative directions for research. The term Chicano will be used in both a generic manner (referring to both women and men of Mexican heritage) and in reference specifically to men when contrasted to Chicanas.