Ethnic identity concealment and disclosure: Contexts and strategies

Abstract

Ethnic minority group members' responses to their prejudicial treatment can take several forms. One involves identity concealment (e.g., 'passing'). In order to understand such a response, we must explore participants' understandings of the interactional context before them, their meta-perceptions of the identity others ascribe to them, and the varied meanings that identity concealment/non-disclosure may have in that context.Our analysis of interview data (N = 30) obtained with Roma in Hungary reveals diverse forms of, and motivations for, the concealment of their Roma identity. Some participants reported examples of proactive identity concealment, others reported more reactive forms (in which they went along with others' mistaken assumptions concerning their identity). The motivations for identity concealment (whether proactive or reactive) included the desire to: secure material benefits; avoid conflict; take pleasure from seeing others' assumptions blinding them to the reality before them; test (and expose) majority group members' attitudes; allow themselves opportunities to experience the world in new ways. Our analysis highlights the importance of social identity researchers recognizing the diverse motivations for ethnic identity concealment: From the actors' perspective concealment is not always assimilatory, and in some contexts can be experienced as empowering.

Isolation, resilience, and faith: Experiences of Black Christian students in biology graduate programs

“…Underrepresented minorities are said to be particularly concerned with what powerful others think of them (Lammers et al, 2008) and may choose to conceal aspects of their racial/ethnic identity (e.g., natural hair styles, cultural vernacular). Students with stigmatized identities engage in a continuum of concealment practices that range from removing religious symbols to complete separation of identities (Dobai & Hopkins, 2022; Rezaiefar et al, 2022). McLaughlin (2007) noted that the level of identity management work undertaken by minorities is a “burden of work largely unknown to those from dominant majority groups” (McLaughlin, 2007, p. 73).…”

“…In the context of academic biology, students may choose to conceal aspects of their religious or racial/ethnic identities to avoid the negative stereotypes of their identities in highly hierarchical societies; this is called using impression management strategies to minimize the salience of their stigmatized identity (Lynch & Rodell, 2018). In the specific case of Black Christian students in biology, they may choose to engage in what Dobai and Hopkins (2022) referred to as ethnic identity concealment in which students grapple with which aspects of their ethnic identity (e.g., natural hair styles, cultural vernacular) to safely reveal to ensure acceptance within that community even with a visible stigmatized identity. For Black Christian students, ethnic identity concealment practices might be done in concert with concealing their religious identity, which also could be considered part of their ethnic identity.…”

Traveller end of life care experiences and needs: thematic analysis

“…Dobai and Hopkins state that "even when an identity is highly valued, its hyper-prominence to others can become burdensome". (35) Similarly, Travellers in this study described a strong sense of identity but reported needing to hide this in the healthcare context due to the negative impact they perceived this could have on the care they received.…”

How to respond to inappropriate questions in job interviews: Personal and social consequences of truth‐telling, deflection and confrontation

“…Future research could also examine whether our results extend to other inappropriate questions which may involve a host of other stigmatized identities such as ethnic group, religion and sexual orientation (e.g., Bobowik et al, 2017;Dobai & Hopkins, 2022) Future research could also test the motivations underlying different response strategies. For example, confronting sexism can be beneficial for the targets' psychological well-being.…”