Can I Be Hispanic?

[wuapinmon]

I've had some interesting discussions with many of my Hispanic friends lately. I've been telling them that I consider myself Hispanic. Some of them say, "Of course." Some say, "Ummm, no...gracias."

My race is White. My ethnicity, at this point, is Southern White American and Hispanic-Costa Rican. Can I consider myself Hispanic.

Before you answer, please be sure that you understand the difference between race and ethnicity. For example, race is Caucausian. Ethnicity is Hispanic; there are white, black, Asian, mestizo, etc. Hispanics.

Is wuapinmon both Hispanic and non-Hispanic?

[UtahDan]

I'm a little confused:

Ethnic

2 : a : of or relating to large groups of people classed according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background <ethnic minorities> <ethnic enclaves> b : being a member of a specified ethnic group <an ethnic German>

Ethnicity
1 : ethnic quality or affiliation <aspects of ethnicity>
2 : a particular ethnic affiliation

What do say makes you ethnically Hispanic? I was particularly focused on the "origin or background" part when I tried to apply the definition here. I just don't know, which is why I am asking. You also said "at this point" which implied to me you thought that ethnicity was sort of a fluid thing that could change. I've never understood it that way, but maybe you can clarify/educate me.

[Solon]

I'm a little confused:

What do say makes you ethnically Hispanic? I was particularly focused on the "origin or background" part when I tried to apply the definition here. I just don't know, which is why I am asking. You also said "at this point" which implied to me you thought that ethnicity was sort of a fluid thing that could change. I've never understood it that way, but maybe you can clarify/educate me.

I think more and more "ethnicity" is coming to be self-defined. I'm in no way an expert, but I think people generally choose the ethnic associations they're most comfortable with. It's culturally constructed - not genetically/racially (although there's obviously going to be overlapping factors).

I've often entertained marking "Hispanic" on AA forms, job applications, etc. because my grandfather was born in Mexico (in one of the LDS colonies) in 1899. He walked across the Rio Grande in 1910 or so.

[TripletDaddy]

I've had some interesting discussions with many of my Hispanic friends lately. I've been telling them that I consider myself Hispanic. Some of them say, "Of course." Some say, "Ummm, no...gracias."

I fall into this camp.

Um, no....gracias.

[The_Tick]

I don't think you get to pick.

You are what you are born into.

If a Black person is raised by a white family and lives in Utah, he will ALWAYS BE AFRICAN AMERICAN. Regardless if he has been to or was actually born in Africa. He will always be Black and AA. He will never be Caucasian or white.

If you rob a bank, they are going to go on say it was a White Caucasian male.

[DU Ute]

If you rob a bank, they are going to go on say it was a White Caucasian male.

What if he did it with a bit of Latin flair?

[wuapinmon]

I'm a little confused:

What do say makes you ethnically Hispanic? I was particularly focused on the "origin or background" part when I tried to apply the definition here. I just don't know, which is why I am asking. You also said "at this point" which implied to me you thought that ethnicity was sort of a fluid thing that could change. I've never understood it that way, but maybe you can clarify/educate me.

By "at this point," I mean that at this point in my life, all day long I work with Hispanic culture and language. I'm teaching my children Spanish. I've given two of them Hispanic names. We hang out mostly with Hispanics; we would attend a Spanish branch of the Church if we could. We eat Hispanic food as much as Southern-American. But, aside from these things, which are all practices, is the fact that I identify with Hispanic culture. I consider myself Hispanic because it is my life just as much as being Southern American is.

But, the question is this, even though I consider myself Hispanic, can I be? I think this issue is complicated because many people see ethnicity and race as the same thing; they are most decidedly not. Hispanicity embraces all races. People from Mexico, Bolivia, Cuba, Argentina, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica do NOT look alike. They are as varied as the populace of Europe, of the United States, of every port city in the world. There are white Hispanics with the last name of O'Higgins. There are black Hispanics like Quince Duncan and El Duque. There are Asian Hispanic like Alberto Fujimori. Hispanicity is not a race; it's an ethnicity. Therefore, is my lack of a recent Hispanic ancestor (I've got a line of Spaniards ca. 1550 AD) and the fact that I was born and raised in the Southern USA by an Anglo-Saxon parents forever preclude me from being Hispanic? I say no, but I'm on the margin; I want to know what the center thinks.

I think more and more "ethnicity" is coming to be self-defined. I'm in no way an expert, but I think people generally choose the ethnic associations they're most comfortable with. It's culturally constructed - not genetically/racially (although there's obviously going to be overlapping factors).

I've often entertained marking "Hispanic" on AA forms, job applications, etc. because my grandfather was born in Mexico (in one of the LDS colonies) in 1899. He walked across the Rio Grande in 1910 or so.

Interesting. If you identified with Hispanic culture as your own, I'd say, "yes."

I fall into this camp.

Um, no....gracias.

If you wouldn't mind taking the time to explain why, I value your opinion.

Excellent. I am now Brazilian, Norwegian, and, above all else, Texan.

Those are political entities.

I don't think you get to pick.

You are what you are born into.

If a Black person is raised by a white family and lives in Utah, he will ALWAYS BE AFRICAN AMERICAN. Regardless if he has been to or was actually born in Africa. He will always be Black and AA. He will never be Caucasian or white.

If you rob a bank, they are going to go on say it was a White Caucasian male.

I feel like you are confusing race and ethnicity. Please tell me what you think about what I wrote above.

[Solon]

Another example: a man I know here at Penn State is lily-white but was adopted as a child by Mexican-Americans. He's Hispanic and has the lucrative fellowship to prove it.

[pellegrino]

I've had some interesting discussions with many of my Hispanic friends lately. I've been telling them that I consider myself Hispanic. Some of them say, "Of course." Some say, "Ummm, no...gracias."

My race is White. My ethnicity, at this point, is Southern White American and Hispanic-Costa Rican. Can I consider myself Hispanic.

Before you answer, please be sure that you understand the difference between race and ethnicity. For example, race is Caucausian. Ethnicity is Hispanic; there are white, black, Asian, mestizo, etc. Hispanics.

Is wuapinmon both Hispanic and non-Hispanic?

wuap, so long as you equally recognize and appreciate the ethnic heritage to which you were born, I don't see a problem with you claiming additional ethnicities. Ethnicity is very fluid and I think that people do and should be able to self identify. That said I think there are two things you should take into consideration.

1- Claiming ethnicity usually implies that the ethnicity you claim accepts you as such. You have to become "uno de nosotros."
2- The government will never officially grant you Hispanic status. It would be foolish to try and make them.

I've often entertained marking "Hispanic" on AA forms, job applications, etc. because my grandfather was born in Mexico (in one of the LDS colonies) in 1899. He walked across the Rio Grande in 1910 or so.

How cool would that be to have a grandfather who could walk on water!

[wuapinmon]

wuap, so long as you equally recognize and appreciate the ethnic heritage to which you were born, I don't see a problem with you claiming additional ethnicities. Ethnicity is very fluid and I think that people do and should be able to self identify. That said I think there are two things you should take into consideration.

1- Claiming ethnicity usually implies that the ethnicity you claim accepts you as such. You have to become "uno de nosotros."
2- The government will never officially grant you Hispanic status. It would be foolish to try and make them.

1. Most of my Hispanic friends are split. The younger are cool with it, the older ones are not. I get this comment from some of them, "This guy is more Hispanic than me."

2. I could not care less about government status.

3. Has anyone ever wondered why Joseph Smith had a brother named "Don Carlos?"

[TripletDaddy]

Another example: a man I know here at Penn State is lily-white but was adopted as a child by Mexican-Americans. He's Hispanic and has the lucrative fellowship to prove it.

If you are raised in La Raza, then you are La Raza.

[TripletDaddy]

1. Most of my Hispanic friends are split. The younger are cool with it, the older ones are not.

This is actually surprising to me. I wonder if the reaction were different if you lived in a Hispanic cultural center....Los Angeles, Arizona, or even Texas. Chicano pride in SoCal is very real.

No way that the older set will ever buy into your theory.

It is hard to describe. I say do whatever makes you happiest but be prepared for some, if not many, to find your self-designation to be inaccurate.

Ultimately, if you love the culture, that is all that matters.

[Solon]

3. Has anyone ever wondered why Joseph Smith had a brother named "Don Carlos?"

I've wondered this many times. Last time we were discussing it, Mormon Red Death thought he was probably a Zorro-type figure in the early church.

[Viking]

Those are political entities.

Explain the difference. Your ethnicity is "Hispanic-Costa Rican". If I stated "Ibero-Latin-Brazilian" and "Scandinavian-Norwegian" and "Southwestern American-Texan", would that fit the model? I'm not being at all facetious.

[Commando]

I've wondered this many times. Last time we were discussing it, Mormon Red Death thought he was probably a Zorro-type figure in the early church.

HA! It was he who exacted revenge on the mobs in illinois, whittling their numbers down one by one with the gentleman's foil.



* on the topic, though-- most of my daily interactions are with hispanics and I use Spanish more than English on some days. HOWEVER-- I would never consider myself hispanic for one reason: the music. It is absolute cacophony to my ears. The food is wonderful, the women are beautiful, the machismo doesn't really get to me. But listening to someone shout through a megaphone over the electric piano or whine over the accordion/ latin american polka just destroys my soul.