Salvador Ramirez

Clare Anzoleaga

Comm 8

03. Mar. 2018

Group Symposium

In today’s world everyone wants to have a place where they can fit in without worry. They

want a place where they know they are welcome and they don’t have to give it a second thought.

This is something that I’m sure we can all sympathize with. In this essay I will be discussing the

importance of our ethnicity, how we identify, and the effects on our beliefs and social role.

Before I get too deep into this I think it is important to first clearly define what I will be

covering today, just so there is no breakdown in communication. According to dictionary.com

Ethnicity is defined as “the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national

or cultural tradition.” Identity is “The fact of being who or what a person or thing is.” Belief is “an

acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.” And Social Role, according to

study.com, is “a set of behaviors that are expected of someone who holds a particular status”. All

four topics are important enough on their own, but together they help define who we are.

For example, my ethnicity is Hispanic or Mexican, but I identify myself as an American of

Mexican decent. To me the American is a better match, not because I deny my heritage, but rather

because I have spent my entire life living an American lifestyle. According to a 2012 survey by

pewhispanic.com called “When Labels Don’t Fit: Hispanics and Their Views of Identity” I am not

alone in feeling this way. They State that “one-in-five say they (Hispanics) use the term American
to describe their identity” because we were primarily raised in the American Tradition, so for us

to identify as Hispanic or Mexican does not feel right. Being raised as an American has definitely

affected the way my beliefs have been shaped as well. Though I know America is not perfect, I

am a firm believer that America is the freest country on earth, and my travels to 17 other developed

and undeveloped countries have only served to strengthen this belief.

Despite identifying as an American myself, most people identify me as Hispanic. They

expect me to adhere to what they consider to be a normal Social Role for Hispanics. They want

me to speak Spanish, and get agitated when they find out I don’t. I constantly get called white

washed because of my taste in music, or how I dress. They expect me not to care about my

education so they question why I spend so much time studying, or even for the fact that I don’t

talk in slang. Most of these criticism coming from Hispanics.

However despite the criticism I don’t really care. I don’t care because that is not how

identify. I like what I like and I take pride in the fact that I have pretty decent vocabulary, if

anything I feel sad or embarrassed for those who have this kind of mentality. I believe that social

roles like this are very toxic and for the most part will only serve to prevent others from reaching

their potential. When someone knows there is already an expectation for them to talk like they’re

uneducated, there is no pressure to talk properly. When they know people expect them to take the

second hand jobs that only involve mindless labor it destroys their ambitions to expand beyond

that. And worst of all when they know people expect them to not care about education they have

no problem with failing. Too many times have I heard other Hispanics bragging to each other about

who could get the lowest grades and still pass, and if they didn’t pass, they had no issue with this.

It is almost as if they fear education so much they don’t want to put an effort towards it, because

if they invest time and still don’t do that great their pride will take a hit. It’s gotten so bad that
teachers have come to expect less from Latino students. According to a 2014 article from the Latin

Times “Teachers believe that Hispanic students are 42 percent less likely to graduate” than white

students. As a result, teachers typically spend less time trying to mentor these students.

These social roles don’t just play a part in Hispanic cultures but all cultures and we all,

sometimes without even knowing, expect things of certain cultures as well. Not only should we

get rid of the expectations of social roles in society, we must overcome the low expectations people

have for us as well.

In conclusion I just want to say don’t play down to what you think is expected of you based

on social role, because if that bar is low then you’ll never get anywhere in life. If anything you

should be trying to prove people wrong. Set your own bar to wherever you want it to be and don’t

let society tell you, you can’t.

 Work Cited

Taylor, Paul. When Labels Don’t Fit: Hispanics and Their Views of Identity.

Pewhispanic.com. Pew Research. April 2012.

http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/04/when-labels-dont-fit-hispanics-and-their-

views-of-identity/

Baral, Susmita. Hispanic Education News: Study Shows Teachers Have Lower

Expectation for Latino Students. Latin Times. Oct. 2014.

http://www.latintimes.com/hispanic-education-news-study-finds-teachers-have-

lower-expectations-latino-students-267098

DeSilver, Drew. How Mexicans in the United States See Their Identity.

Pewresearch.com. May 2013. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-

tank/2013/05/03/how-mexicans-in-the-united-states-see-their-identity/

Identity. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/identity

Long-Crowell, Erin. Social Roles.

Study.com. 2018. https://study.com/academy/lesson/social-roles-definition-and-

types-of-social-roles.html