Richard Alba, "The Great Demographic Illusion: Majority, Minority, and the Expanding American Mainstream" (Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2020), 312 pp.

Sattler, J. D.

doi:10.33675/amst/2022/3/11

Cited by 8 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…Over the past several decades, ethnoracial demographic change has become a major focus of academic and public discussion in U.S. society (e.g., Abascal 2020;Alba 2020;Chavez 2008;Richeson, 2014, 2018b;McConnell 2011McConnell , 2019Outten et al, 2012). A growing body of social science research has sought to understand how the White population-currently the most numerous and politically powerful-understands, evaluates, and responds to projected population trends.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Demographic Optimism and Pessimism?

McConnell

Rodríguez-Muñiz

2022

Du Bois Rev.

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The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2060, Latinx, African Americans, Asians, and other “minority” groups will together comprise the majority of the country’s population. Past research has found that non-Hispanic Whites, hereafter Whites, find such projections disquieting or threatening. Yet, recent surveys reveal that when given more than binary good/bad choices, most Whites opt for the middle-point response that this development will be “neither good nor bad for the country.” How can we account for this seemingly ambiguous evaluation of projected ethnoracial demographic futures? Using eight waves of nationally representative U.S. survey data collected between 2015 and 2018, this article begins to unpack the “neither” response among Whites, exploring what it might mean and what factors are associated with it, relative to seemingly optimistic and pessimistic stances. Multinomial Logistic Regression analyses and additional descriptive analyses indicate that “neither good nor bad” in this context is a substantive response: White “Neithers” are socio-demographically and attitudinally distinct from their counterparts. Our study demonstrates the value of moving beyond an exclusive focus on expressions of demographic threat and pessimism. Moreover, it invites further investigation into factors that inform and shape how Whites and other ethnoracial populations in the U.S. understand and assess projected population shifts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Demographic Optimism and Pessimism?

McConnell

Rodríguez-Muñiz

2022

Du Bois Rev.

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“…In another vein, racial stratification theory argues that racial/ ethnic minorities developed distinct fertility behaviours due to a relative positioning that deprives perceived power and safety rather than wealth and cultural motivations (McDaniel, 1996). The ramifications of one's racial/ethnic identity come from how people within a space define and confine this identity (Neely & Samura, 2011;Smedley, 1998), but such a definition often changes (Alba, 2020).…”

Section: The Contextual Turn: Ethnic Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnic context and fertility differential in post‐Soviet Kazakhstan

Yang

Liang

Lü

2023

Population Space and Place

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Previous studies have often explained fertility differentials between racial groups by aggregate individual characteristics. Emphasizing a spatial perspective, this study argues that the fertility implications of race may depend on the ethnic composition of the local context. This study tested the explanatory power of contextual ethnic composition, measured by diversity and minority share, with the intriguing case of fertility differentials in post‐Soviet Kazakhstan. Multilevel Poisson regressions and decomposition techniques were performed on the pooled 1995 and 1999 Kazakhstan Demographic and Health Surveys. Further sensitivity tests were conducted with the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey‐Kazakhstan 2010–2011 and 2015 surveys. We found that both diversity and minority share are significant contributors to the majority‐minority fertility differential. Specifically, context‐level ethnic diversity is associated with lower fertility (−0.22, p < 0.001) for both Russians and Kazakhs, while a higher share of Russians in the local context reduces the differential between the two groups (−0.26, p < 0.05). Sensitivity test using data from the 2010s reproduced the significant effect of the context‐level share of Russians on fertility. The findings suggest that minority individuals exhibit lower fertility levels in places where their presence is more suppressed. This study contributes to population geography's recognition of the importance of spatial and contextual processes in shaping fertility outcomes for racial/ethnic minorities by impacting their living environment.

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“…The potential impact of intermarriage on racial inequality is less explicit in most discussions of intermarriage as evidence of assimilation. Growing intermarriage theoretically follows assimilation across spheres, including structural spaces where access to resources is negotiated (Alba, 2020;Alba & Nee, 2003). Full or expanding participation in education or occupations should therefore expand ties that lead to greater intermarriage (Gordon, 1964), but it should also be the cornerstone of reducing inequality; therefore, as intermarriage increases, inequalities should decline.…”

Section: Perspectives On Racial Mixing and Racial Boundaries: Assimil...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While expanding interracial unions will thus likely not automatically translate into a decline in social distance, the question remains, what social changes are likely to emerge from continued racial mixture within families? Demographically, growing or even sustained interracial coupling, marital and otherwise, will most certainly continue to diversify the US population, with increases in racially mixed births (Alba, 2020; Choi & Tienda, 2017) and the population who self‐identifies as “multiracial.” Hispanic‐White and Asian‐White offspring are making up increasingly large shares of the multiracial population, compared to relatively smaller shares of Black‐White offspring, which some have argued may result in an expansion of the Black/non‐Black divide (Alba, 2020; Lee & Bean, 2010). The growth of a multiracial population will add complexity to racial groups, with Blacks, Asians, Whites, and Hispanics/Latine actively claiming parental ancestry of different races (Parker et al, 2015).…”

Section: Speculation About Contemporary Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their growth might speed the predicted transition of the US toward a “minority‐majority” nation, as these groups are typically enumerated among the population of color. Some argue these predictions are premature, given that racial definitions are continually in flux, providing various ways for multiracial people to be counted (Alba, 2020; Prewitt, 2016). Ultimately, we argue that racialized hierarchies will frame how these groups are perceived and classified instead of racial mixture redefining or reorganizing the hierarchies themselves (Bonilla‐Silva, 2004).…”

Section: Speculation About Contemporary Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mixing races, maintaining racism? Considering the connection between interracial families, social distance, and racial inequality

Bratter

Campbell

2023

J of Family Theo & Revie

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Researchers often assume that close interracial relationships, especially intermarriage, simultaneously reflect and cause a weakening of racial and ethnic boundaries and inequality between groups. In fact, interracial marriage is often used as a measure of social distance. We question those assumptions, noting the salient boundaries and durable inequalities that remain despite decades of increases in interracial relationships. We begin with historical examples, showing how, for much of US history, there was no expectation that interracial sexual encounters would reduce racial inequality or weaken boundaries. Incorporating critical race theory and intersectional perspectives, we describe how the impact of interracial intimate relationships is both gendered and classed. We argue that research on contemporary intimate interracial relationships (friendships, dating, and marriage) explains why such relationships may have little impact on attitudes, inequality, and the rigidity of boundaries and call for future research to consider dynamics within the family as well.

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Richard Alba, "The Great Demographic Illusion: Majority, Minority, and the Expanding American Mainstream" (Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2020), 312 pp.

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Between Demographic Optimism and Pessimism?

Between Demographic Optimism and Pessimism?

Ethnic context and fertility differential in post‐Soviet Kazakhstan

Mixing races, maintaining racism? Considering the connection between interracial families, social distance, and racial inequality

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