Diversity in Human Development

1. Social Identity Paper 1
Social Identity Paper
Jacqueline Benitez-Alfaro
HDFS 4330
August 24, 2018

2. Social Identity Paper 2
My Social Identity:
What is your social identity?
I am a Catholic, Hispanic Female. I am also a first-generation student at the University
of Georgia. I am heterosexual, and I was raised in a lower middle-class family. I consider
myself Salvadorian, although I was born in the United States.
Do you see your identity as positive or negative? Does society see your identity as
positive or negative?
I view my identity as positive, and I think depending on where I am society can view my
identity as positive or negative. I was raised in a diverse part of Gwinnett County in the state
of Georgia. My school was composed of many minority groups and everyone embraced their
culture and heritage. I never felt belittled or less than my peers. It was not until I started
dating my boyfriend who is from a very small, southern town in Georgia called Hartwell, that
I actually felt judged for being Hispanic. The first time I heard racist words directly towards
Hispanics was from my boyfriend’s best friend; he thought I was White when we met because
I am very pale. At that moment, I realized racism is very real and not just something that is
seen on TV. My identity is viewed negatively when a person is offended and bothered at the
fact that a Hispanic female and White male are in an interracial.
Think about your identity in various situations. When are you likely to behave in certain
ways because of your identity? When is your behavior likely to be due to your identity?

3. Social Identity Paper 3
When is it unlikely to be so (e.g., is due instead to situational factors or other aspects of
yourself)?
When I am around other Hispanic people, I am more likely to speak Spanish, whereas
when I am surrounded by other ethnicities who do not speak Spanish, especially in public, I
tend to avoid speaking Spanish. Some people assume that if you are speaking Spanish, you
are talking badly about them, so I try to avoid making other people feel uncomfortable. Since
Gwinnett County is diverse, I usually speak Spanish more often in public than I would in
places like Athens or Hartwell where there is less ethnic diversity.
What kinds of things might threaten your social identity?
I never felt my social identity threatened until this past year. My boyfriend and I had
been dating for a year and up until that point I never took the passive racist remarks from
people from Hartwell seriously, I would just ignore it. There was one occasion where I was on
the phone with my boyfriend while he was at work and he was telling his coworker a story
about me and then all of a sudden, his coworker says, “When are you going to find yourself a
pretty White girl”. I just burst into tears. I think it hit me harder in this occasion because at
this point I could really envision myself marrying my boyfriend and starting a family with
him in the future. Because of my insecurities, it made me overanalyze the remark and it made
me start wondering if the constant remarks made by people surrounding my boyfriend would
ever make him question our relationship. This was the only time I ever felt ashamed of being
Hispanic and resented it because I felt like because of my ethnicity, I could possibly lose
someone who means a lot to me.

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Another source that could threaten my social identity is society and media. As a female
who wants to start her own business someday, the constant reminders that males are more
likely to succeed in the industry can be very discouraging. Media often shows families where
men go to work and have stable, high-earning careers and women stay at home to care for
their kids and clean the house.
How does your identity influence your interactions with others? Think about the
expectations you have and the expectancies others bring to the situation. To what extent
does this stem from social structure?
I am very light skinned compared to the majority of Hispanics. When I am around new
people, I always try to somehow mention that I am Hispanic, because when I was middle
school I never did simply because I did not think it was necessary, but some people went
years thinking I was White until I said something. I also like to mention that I am Hispanic
from the beginning of meeting someone because it can prevent an awkward situation, like
when I met my boyfriend’s best friend, where someone makes a racist or discriminatory
remark towards Hispanics, without knowing that I am Hispanic.
To what extent do you take your identity for granted (or not)?
Although I am part of two minority groups: Hispanic and female, I embrace both of
them. I mentioned previously that I want to start a business, which is an endeavor that mainly
White men succeed in. This makes me even more motivated to work harder to overcome
statistics and have a successful business regardless of the fact that I am a Hispanic female. My

5. Social Identity Paper 5
parents both came from El Salvador when they were teenagers; I constantly remind myself
that I do not what their sacrifices to be wasted and that I will reach my “American Dream”,
because when I do, their sacrifices will be worth it.
My Interviewee’s Social Identity:
What is your social identity?
I consider myself a white, male. I come from a poor family, but we made it by with
what we had. I used to be a welder, but now I work as a diesel mechanic and I also work on
boats, lawnmowers, cars, anything that has an engine. My passion for engines and cars led me
to be a racecar driver, which is something I strongly identify with (J. Benitez, 2018).
Do you see your identity as positive or negative? Does society see your identity as
positive or negative?
I see my identity as positive and society views white males in a positive way. I’m
southern and come from a small town and have a strong southern accent. Some people say
that southerners are dumb and illiterate once they hear an accent like mine, but I think that
comes from people up north, so they don’t understand life is different in the south (J. Benitez,
2018).
Think about your identity in various situations. When are you likely to behave in certain
ways because of your identity? When is your behavior likely to be due to your identity?

6. Social Identity Paper 6
When is it unlikely to be so (e.g., is due instead to situational factors or other aspects of
yourself)?
I am an outgoing guy, but when I go to the city I go into my shell. Going to the mall
can be overwhelming because there are more people there than in my whole town. I consider
myself humble and I don’t dress flashy and when I see all those people dressed in expensive
clothing, it makes me feel bad because I feel like I stand out for wearing dirty jeans and boots
with holes in them. I prefer to stay in my small town because I feel like I belong there and the
people there are like me and I don’t feel judged (J. Benitez, 2018).
What kinds of things might threaten your social identity?
Comparing myself to others definitely threatens my social identity. I am content with
the person I am and how I was raised because it taught me values and morals and to be
independent, but when I start comparing myself to people who have more than me even when
I’m working over 60 hours a week, it makes me wish I was born in a richer family (J. Benitez,
2018).
How does your identity influence your interactions with others? Think about the
expectations you have and the expectancies others bring to the situation. To what extent
does this stem from social structure?
In places where I am more comfortable like the racetrack or at work when I’m working
on trucks, I am more confident, and it shows through my interactions with other people. The
people I interact with have the same interest as me so it is easy to accept and show my social

7. Social Identity Paper 7
identity without feeling judged. Even though I am a White male, sometimes I do not realize I
have privilege in other aspects because I focus on my social economic status and materialistic
things.
To what extent do you take your identity for granted (or not)?
I take for granted that White people are more privileged than other races. I am from a
small town where everyone is treated the same, but the majority of the people in my town are
White so I guess it isn’t a good example of comparing how minorities are treated here. Even
though at time I do wish I came from a family that had more money, being form a family that
didn’t have much taught me to work hard for the things I have,
Write a separate section about the insights you gained from the interview and this paper,
incorporating the results and discussion around your completed implicit bias
assessments.
When I answered the question, I focused on mainly two identities: Hispanic and Female.
In The Complexity of Identity, it states that people are more like to identify with the minority
categories. I am Catholic and heterosexual, which are majority groups, so I have privilege in
those identities (Tatum, B. D). Many people, including myself, overlook and tend to forget that
although we do not have one privilege in certain category, does not mean we do not have
privilege in others. I think it is a common misconception that all White people are privileged,
hence the phrase “White privilege” that is frequently thrown around. Yes, White people do have
privilege in skin color, but that does not mean each white person has privilege in religion, social

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class, sexuality, etc. I got emotional responding to some of the questions and it made me realize
that for me, as an adult, social identities are more prevalent and important in our lives than when
I was younger.
Before starting the interview, I read my interviewee the consent form and the
participation and completion of the interview met the requirements for implied consent. My
interviewee focused on his social economic status. Like myself, he focused on the categories
where he was a minority. He acknowledged that he has privilege for being a White male, but he
did not recognize it as much because where he lives, the majority of the community is also
White. It was also interesting that he felt like everyone was treated equally/similarly in his town.
This is the same town where my boyfriend has been asked when he is going to find a White
girlfriend instead of Hispanic one. When I am in this town, I feel like everyone is staring at me; I
know many people think I am White when they first look at me so I blend in with the people of
this small town, but I do not feel welcome because I identify with Hispanics, and I notice how
White people in this town look at Hispanics and African Americans. I also found it interesting
that my interviewee felt out of place in the mall in a bigger city. Since I know my interviewee
personally, I actually noticed that he would dress up when he would go out of his small town, yet
he still feels like everyone is overdressed and his attire does not fit in.
I strongly believe that our environment and society form our social identities. I grew up
in a very diverse community, so I embraced my ethnicity without having criticism from others
and I do not think I would be able to handle racism or discriminatory remarks now that I am
older if I had not grown to love my culture from a young age. Television, social media, books,
and various other forms show traditional families to be a male figure who provides all or the

9. Social Identity Paper 9
majority of the household income, a mother who is a stay-at-home mom and is the primary
caregiver of her children. As a female, it seems like I am expected to stay at home and not have a
career of my own. Specifically, being a Hispanic female, I am not expected to go to college. I am
expected to start a family at a young age and get married and focus on pleasing my husband. My
parents played a huge part in motivating me to break stereotypes and work to meet my goals.
They always encourage me to focus on school and to not worry about having a boyfriend until
after high school; I think hearing this from them constantly made me focus on my goals and
being independent. The rule in my household was I either went to college or I start working to
help pay bills in the house. Sometimes it would come off harshly from my parents, but I am glad
it did because I am in my fourth year in college working up to my career goals. I was a bit
surprised when my race test stated that I have a moderate automatic preference for European
American over African Americans. At first, I took it as, “You’re racist and you have white
privilege because of your pale skin”. The more I analyzed my results, I realized that the
results could have been influenced by various factors. Maybe I identified with European
Americans because I also have light skin, and they look more like me so it was easier to
identify them in the test. Overall, I think it is important to be aware that you might be bias
towards a group of people even if you do not realize it.
Completing the Implicit Bias Assessment:
Name of Implicit IAT Taken: Gender - Career

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How accurate do you feel this IAT was for you in assessing any biases you may have
(circle a number below)?
1 2 3 4 5
(Not Accurate at All) (Very Accurate)
Explanation:
I think the test was accurate because although my beliefs differ from the results, I have
grown up constantly hearing that the male or the husband of a family will have a career and that
the woman will be a stay at home mom and take care of her family. I do not believe that only
males should have the option to build their career and women should not stay at home and be
housewives if they do not want to. Personally, I want to finish school and be further in my career
before I start a family.
I have switched my career goal ideas for various reasons over the past three years.
Personally, I think it was automatic for me to think that I would choose a career where I am
helping others. I started off as a pre-vet major, then pre-med, and then planned on going to
nursing school. I was 100% content with these career choices. I loved the idea of helping others,
but I was never open to other careers that were male dominant. When I decided to open up to
these other careers such as being a business owner, I realized it was something I actually aspired
to do, but because I am constantly told by society and media that men are the ones who make it
the farthest in these careers I do sometimes hesitate to pursue this goal, whereas I know in
nursing field where it is predominantly female, I could be successful.
Discuss your biases from this assessment in relation to the content of the Tatum reading.

11. Social Identity Paper 11
My assessment showed I would be considered a dominant (Tatum, B. D). The test
showed that I have a slight automatic association for male with career and female with family. I
am aware of my bias and I believe I developed this bias form watching various shows that shows
men working and women being housewives. Once I started kindergarten, my mom started
working and my dad also worked full time and traveled out of state. My mom always took care
of all the household duties and everything that involved my brother and I such as doctor
appointments and school functions. I always admired how my mom was able to handle
everything so well; she was able to work full-time and manage the household. I want to be able
to do the same thing when I start a family. I want to have a successful career and start a family,
but if I had to choose one or the other, I would choose to have a family, which could also have an
influence on my test results.
Name of Implicit IAT Taken: Race
How accurate do you feel this IAT was for you in assessing any biases you may have
(circle a number below)?
1 2 3 4 5
(Not Accurate at All) (Very Accurate)
My assessment stated that I have a moderate automatic preference for European
American over African Americans. I think this is accurate because I am used to seeing more
European features. I am Hispanic, but I have a lighter skin tone than most Hispanics and so
does the majority of my family. I do not think I prefer one race over the other; I think the test

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showed what I am more accustomed to seeing and identifying with so I thought the results
were accurate.
Discuss your biases from this assessment in relation to the content of the Tatum reading.
My assessment showed I would be considered a dominant (Tatum, B. D). My test showed
that I showed a moderate automatic preference for European Americans over African Americans.
I would say I was unaware of this bias. I have always grown up with an ethnically diverse group
of friends and I never thought I had a bias of one over the other. I think these biases have
developed recently but could have possibly been building up since I was younger. My family has
more European features, so I feel like I identify more with that group, which could have affected
the results of my assessment. Also, since I started college, the ethnic diversity of my friends has
decreased. The majority of my friends are White, and my boyfriend is White, so it could possibly
be that I am more familiar with European American features, so I had a preference towards this
specific group. I am open to be friends with anyone regardless of their race, gender, or sexuality,
but I think because the majority group in my current community, which is Athens/UGA, is
majority White, it is not a bias that the people I have classes with, befriend, and date are also
White instead of a minority group.

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References
J. Benitez, Personal Communication, August 21, 2018
Tatum, B. D. (n.d). The Complexity of Identity: “Who Am I?” Retrieved August 24, 2018