Browsing by Subject "racialization"
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Item Racial and Ethnic Identities of Mexican-White Couples in Texas(2010-11-03) Guillen, Jennifer 1983-This thesis is a result of qualitative research conducted with individuals in interracial, Mexican-White couples in Southeast, Texas. This study calls into question the ways in which individuals in these relationships self-identify and how they perceive and are perceived by their partners. There are several conclusions reached during this study. First, the results partially support Omi and Winant?s (1994) argument that racial and ethnic identities are fluid and dynamic among non-White individuals, as is shown by the availability of labels and the variation in selecting those identities. Second, the analysis shows that Whites impose the label ?Hispanic? onto their Mexican partners, regardless of how these self-identify. Finally, the identity of Whites does not support Omi and Winant?s (1994) argument that racial and ethnic identities are fluid and dynamic. On the contrary, behaviors and attitudes among Whites shift, but their identity is static. This reflects the retention of White power and privilege associated with White identity. This analysis utilized forty in-depth interviews of individuals living in a small to medium sized metropolitan area in Texas, and who were asked to discuss ethnic and racial identity as it is self-identified, and perceived and imposed by their partners. Respondents revealed extensive variation in responses as to how individuals in these couples racially and ethnically self-identified, identified their partners, as well as, what factors may or may not affect those identifications. Results indicate a complex relationship between individuals in interracial and interethnic relationships and their constructions of identity that influence racial and ethnic identifications.Item Racializing the Migration Process: An Ethnographic Analysis of Undocumented Immigrants in the United States(2011-08-06) Molina, Hilario 1972-From the exterior, the United States has extracted natural resources and transformed the social dynamics of those living on the periphery, contributing to the emigration from Mexico and immigration to the United States. This,in turn,creates the racialization of the Mexican immigrant, specifically the undocumented immigrant?the "illegal alien." I argue that this unilateral interaction operates with a racial formation of the Mexican immigrant created by elite white (non-Hispanic) males. The anti-Mexican immigrant subframe and "prowhite" subframe derive from the white racial frame,which racializes the undocumented immigrant in the United States. In addition, the subframes are evident in the three stages of migration. The three stages consist of threefold factors: First, the exploitation of Mexican resources (natural and human) and racialized immigration policies; second, the social networks and smugglers, called coyotes, who assist the undocumented immigrant to bypass barriers; and third, the discrimination undocumented immigrants encounter in the United States by other people of color. This dissertation relied on the migration experience of thirty Mexican male day-laborers,living in Texas, to examine the white racial framing of undocumented immigrants. The findings demonstrate how the U.S. immigration policies and members of the host society persistently exhibit the white racial frame and its subframes. This study is essential, because, aside from noting the issues of unauthorized migration, it demonstrates how elite white males shape the dialogue on the discourse and all that surrounds the migration process.