Seen as Latino, Assumed Lower Class: Racialized Class and Immigrant Status Perceptions in the United States

Although racial and class stereotypes are intertwined, few studies have examined the degree to which racial perceptions are linked to assumptions about social class. Among Latinos, racial self-identities often do not align with racial classifications by others, complicating debates about their place in the U.S. racial order. This study draws on unique survey data in which respondents classify the race, immigrant status, and social class of people in photographs who self-identify as Latino, Black, or White. In contrast to theories positing Latinos as a group in between Black and White Americans, findings show that self-identified White, Black and Latino observers alike tend to perceive Latinos as lower in socioeconomic standing than Black Americans. However, class perceptions of self-identified Latinos vary by their perceived race and immigrant status. This study suggests that ideas about the hierarchical positioning of racial groups at the macro-level, especially for Latinos, may not correspond to how socioeconomic stereotypes are experienced at the individual level, which vary by perceptions of race and immigrant status.