Stratification by Skin Color in Contemporary Mexico

Abstract

Latin America is often used as a backdrop against which U.S. race relations are compared. Yet research on race in Latin America focuses almost exclusively on countries in the region with a large recognized presence of individuals of African descent such as Brazil. Racial categories in these countries are based on skin color distinctions along a black-white continuum. By contrast, the main socially recognized ethnic distinction in Indo-Latin American countries such as Mexico, between indigenous and non-indigenous residents, is not based primarily on phenotypical differences, but rather on cultural practices and language use. Many Mexicans today nevertheless express a preference for whiter skin and European features, even though no clear system of skin color categorization appears to exist. In this study, I use data from a nationally-representative panel survey of Mexican adults to examine the extent of skin-color-based social stratification in contemporary Mexico. Despite extreme ambiguity in skin color classification, I find considerable agreement among survey interviewers about who belongs to three skin color categories. The results also provide evidence of profound social stratification by skin color. Individuals with darker skin tone have significantly lower levels of educational attainment and occupational status, and they are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to be affluent, even after controlling for other individual characteristics.

Race, color, and income inequality across the Americas

“…There is a growing literature that emphasizes the endogeneity of race in understanding social inequality and stratification processes (Villarreal 2010;Schwartzman 2007). This research suggests that not only does people"s race affect their opportunities but people"s life outcomes can also shape how they are perceived racially and how they identify themselves (Saperstein and Penner 2012).…”

“…It is also possible that, instead of being the bases for different race paradigms, categorical race and skin color are best viewed as two distinct dimensions of the same race construct. Recent research suggests their utility as analytic concepts may vary across contexts (Ñopo, Saavedra, and Torero 2007;Villarreal 2010;Roth 2010;Telles and Steele 2012;Loveman, Muniz, and Bailey 2012); hence, the appropriateness of using one measure or the other, or both, is an empirical question. However, until recently data limitations have prohibited an explicit comparison of these two approaches in the U.S. versus Latin America.…”

Identidad social y estereotipos por color de piel. Aspiraciones y desempeño en jóvenes mexicanos

“…En consecuencia, una característica física como el color de piel puede detonar tratos diferenciados entre individuos, de otra manera, homólo-gos (Ñopo, Chong y Moro, 2009). La situación en México no es diferente, pues evidencia reciente por parte de la economía y otras ciencias sociales señala serias desventajas para individuos con determinadas características físicas; por ejemplo, individuos con tonos de piel oscuros tienen un nivel educativo inferior, trabajan en ocupaciones que requieren menos calificaciones, reciben salarios por hora menores, reportan estados de salud más precarios, tienen un acceso más restringido a servicios públicos y reciben menores ofertas de trabajo, en comparación con sus contrapartes de piel clara (Altamirano y Trejo, 2016;Arceo y Campos, 2014;Flores y Telles, 2012;Telles, 2004Telles, y 2014Villarreal, 2010). De la misma manera, existe evidencia de que el grado de movilidad social en México está relacionado con el tono de la piel.…”

Multidimensional Ethno-racial Status in Contexts of Mestizaje: Ethno-racial Stratification in Contemporary Peru

“…I recoded the latter as I did for the respondents' skin color. In separate analy ses (not presented in this study), I examined the association between interviewers' characteristics and respondents' skin color categorization (Villarreal 2010). I opted to control for interviewers' characteristics because I found that their skin color and sex (female) were significantly associated with respondents' skin color categorization.…”

“…Individuals who selfidentify as white have greater access to household Table 2. However, I estimated robust standard errors adjusted for withininterviewer clustering (see Villarreal 2010). 20 I opted to present the results of a logistic regression model (Model 10) instead of a probit model.…”