Identity Work: Enactment of Racial-Ethnic Identity in Everyday Life

Abstract

In this theoretical analysis, we discuss the attributional and enactment approaches to identity and present a new Ethnic-Racial Identity Enactment Model derived from extant theory and research. We highlight modes of identity work that provide 1) self-concept and self-esteem protection; 2) achievement and success during everyday encounters; 3) a sense of belonging and attachment to one's ascriptive group; and 4) the relation between internalized oppression and internalized racism in everyday exchanges. We discuss the integration of self-concept mechanisms with mindsets and intentions specific to ethnic-racial identity dynamics. The article ends by highlighting a research procedure that fuses the attributional and enactment approaches to identity research.

Persistent Concerns: Questions for Research on Ethnic-Racial Identity Development

“…In the less than 42 years that followed, 1977-2018, the same search uncovered 3,691 publications. This exponential rate of growth yields a robust literature on ERI-its conceptualization, development, and implications (Cokley, 2007;Cross et al, 2017;Rivas-Drake et al, 2014).…”

“…We found ourselves in good company in grounding a lifespan model in these principles (Cross et al, 2017;Seaton et al, 2017;Syed et al, 2018;Velez & Spencer, 2018;Verkuyten et al, 2019). And while there are important examples and exemplars showing how racial identity depends on contexts (Carter et al, 2017;Witherspoon et al, 2016) and transforms through adulthood (Neville & Cross, 2017), that the meaning of ERI is interlaced with gender and social class (Azmitia et al, 2008;Ghavami & Peplau, 2018), and that young children can report on their own ERI in meaningful ways (Derlan et al, 2017;Marcelo & Yates, 2018), these topics typically reside in the limitations and future directions sections of our publications and in summative reviews and commentaries rather than empirical reports.…”

“…Pushing the accepted boundaries of monoracial identity constructions recognizes that ethnicity and race are socially constructed, contextually embedded, and fluid constructs (Echols et al, 2018;Gaither et al, 2013;Nishina et al, 2010). Indeed, as illustrated by experience sampling methods (Cross et al, 2017;Fuligni & Yip, 2002;Yip, 2005) and research with multiracial individuals (Gaither et al, 2013), "dual consciousness," and "codeswitching," call into question race singularity and constancy (DuBois, 1903(DuBois, , 1973Kiang et al, 2007).…”

Peers, Policies, and Place: The Relation Between Context and Ethnic/Racial Identity

“…A dynamic model of the relation between context and ERI should also consider the importance of identity validation in social contexts and the shaping of these social contexts by ERI enactment. Enactment includes the manner in which members of stigmatized groups—such as the Roma in Eastern Europe (Dimitrova et al., in )—attempt to manage one's stigma status through a crafted and highly intentional presentation of self in everyday life (Cross et al., ). In other words, enactment is the way in which ERI is accomplished and managed during daily interactions with intraracial and interracial individuals (Cross et al., ).…”

Walking on egg shells: colorblind ideology and race talk in teacher education

“…Our specific sets of social identities (e.g., race, class, gender, sexuality) influence how we are socially located and how we experience social life, including racial discrimination and oppression (Apollon, 2011a(Apollon, , 2011bBigler & Hughes, 2009;Harro, 2013; see also Cross, 1991;Cross et al, 2017;Helms, 1990;Seaton, Quintana, Verkuyten, & Gee, 2017;Shih & Sanchez, 2009;Sleeter, 1992;Tatum, 1992;Thompson & Carter, 1997). In a system of racial oppression, our racial identities position how we experience and thus examine and understand race and racism.…”