THE BUMPY ROAD OF ASSIMILATION: GENDER, PHENOTYPE, AND HISTORICAL ERA

Abstract

Gender, phenotype, and historical era powerfully shape the life experiences, identities, and cultures of Mexican-origin families. Using interview data from three-generation Mexican-American families, second-generation Mexican-American women were inclined to revivify their heritage upon marriage or childbearing whereas men underwent the gendered racialization process of U.S. military service. Among the third generation, skin color determines the relevance or irrelevance of “symbolic ethnicity.” Women engaged in a “third-generation return” to ethnicity far more than men, revealing gendered expectations of cultural transmission. This article advances assimilation theory by identifying fractures within generations—gender, phenotype and historical context—that steer incorporation processes.

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