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Benjamin Calderon

Jennifer Rodrick

English 115

10/23/19

Confident or Conformity?

"The U.S Hispanic population reached 59.9 million in 2018, up 1.2 million over the

previous year and up from 47.8 million in 2008, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau

population estimates" (Flores). Many believe that Hispanics do not conform to American society,

but surprisingly the majority do to make things easier. Space reaches out to a far extent to fit

because of the place they are in influences them. Although many say that Hispanics/Latinos

should be themselves, the space they are in, such as American schools or public places, does

shape their identity by acting more "American." By acting more American, Hispanics should

only speak English, in certain areas, celebrate American holidays/traditions, and adapt to the

educational system. American is predominantly Whites in the United States of America and are

the ones referred to the American society.

We can see how Hispanics are pressured to conform by society when they speak Spanish

and are told to talk about America's language, which is presumed English. For instance, in Gloria

Anzaldua's "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," she explains why she has to control herself and

detain herself from speaking other languages because she isn't "allowed" to. She says, "I

remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess- that was good for three licks on the knuckles

with a sharp ruler… 'If you want to be American, speak 'American.' If you don't like it, go back

to Mexico where you belong'" (Anzaldua 471). Hispanics/Latinos are meant to feel inferior to the

Americans because they are in America. They believe since they are in America, they should be
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American, well at least show others they can be, and to them, this seems like the only option.

Many Hispanics being in these types of surrounding makes them adapt to English and other

characteristics to fit into this society in order to make a living. They start to lose their natural

ways, such as Spanish and who they were in the past, to obtain this sense of belonging. Speaking

English isn't the only thing that the Hispanic/Latino community has to do to feel belonged.

Additionally, Hispanic/Latino culture, tradition, and holidays are unique and meaningful

and do not suit the American society. In George Martinez's "Latinos, Assimilation and the Law:

A Philosophical Perspective," he talks about how Latinos, Hispanics, and other minorities should

assimilate to American mainstream but don't when he says, "The cultural practices of Latinos

and other minorities nay be such marginal practices. They may have been central in their original

cultures, but in the United States, they are not what one normally does" (Martinez 23). Do

Hispanics celebrate American traditions and holidays, and vice versa? There is usually a couple

of Hispanics that do celebrate, but for the majority, they don't really celebrate it. When the

Hispanics do celebrate, they do it differently. That goes the same for cultural events and

traditions, Hispanics are known for tamales and other central American dishes, but the American

society know hotdogs and hamburgers. Hispanics are encouraged to eat more like Americans.

They endorse to be more "American" because people do not like different. Then next thing you

know, they are more American than Hispanic. Being pressured to celebrate or do American

activities can cause a shift in identity. Although speaking English and traditions/holidays are big

factors, the education system also ties in.

Many Americans don't notice that they shape Hispanics in the education system by

thinking they aren't smart or have a future. For example, in Schhneider's "Barriers to Educational

Opportunities for Hispanics in the United States", while talking about the lack of education
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Hispanics get, she says, "Despite high educational expectations, Hispanics are among the least

educated group in the United States: 11 percent of those over age 25 have earned a bachelor's

degree or higher compared with 17 percent of blacks, 30 percent of whites, and 49 percent of

Asian Americans in the same age group. Even more troubling, more than one-fourth of Hispanic

adults have less than a ninth-grade education" (Schhneider 180). American society thinks of

Hispanics as the least fortunate and hard workers with no future. So, Hispanics in an educational

system are looked down on and pitied. The educational system makes Hispanics feel differently

from the rest of society and starts to conform to what they are being pictured. The educational

system is filled with English writing everywhere, such as posters, instructional videos, lessons,

and staff members speaking in English, so they are intimidated. They begin to feel less worthy

and stick to the image of Hispanics.

American society creates the space to feel dominant and superior to others. Whatever

they think is different is something that is wrong or unusual. They want others to become more

like them so others can feel belonging. American society is the only one that doesn't like change;

everybody doesn't. Having everything as similar as possible seems dull but more of a

comfortable feeling. Many think that Hispanics aren't pressured to act more American, but it

happens pretty much every day, and it is being ignored. All Hispanics are encouraged to be

themselves and keep their traditions and language relevant today. Even though Hispanics are

growing in the United States of America, they are becoming less Hispanic than before. It’s

because the space around them influences them. It is happening more because the Hispanics are

just trying to enjoy their lives and go with the ways of American society. Hispanics can find

themselves if do they not conform to society.

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Conformity isn’t just Hispanics; it is literally everyone in the World. People are scared to be

different because people hate different. Hispanics don’t get it the worse, but they still get looked

at differently by the American society. Many believe they are the worst of the worst but there

isn’t really a physical proof, so as of now it’s just an infamous opinion said by many. Conformity

gives people a feeling of belonging and don’t want to catch any unwanted attention by others. If

they catch attention of others, it will give a sense of unwantedness. People will follow others to a

certain extend but since it happens a lot, is there really any extend? Originality and uniqueness is

rare nowadays. When there is originality people praise to have that, but still will conform to

society.
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Many more Hispanics are growing in the United States of America. This shows how much an

estimate of how much out of five children are going to be Hispanic and the percentage of

projected 2050 Hispanic population and current Hispanic population. Who knows if Hispanics

will still be conforming to the American society and who knows will actually find them true

selves from no influences? I think that there will be no more need of being pressured and judged

by others in that project year. As of now we have the Americans, primarily whites, that think

they are superior to others.

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Anzaldua, Gloria. “How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” 1987. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of

Nonfiction. Ed. Melissa A. Goldthwaite et al. 14th ed. New York, 2016. 471-80. Print.

Cárdenas, Vanessa, and Sophia Kerby. “The State of Latinos in the United States.” Center for

American Progress,

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2012/08/08/11984/the-state-of-

latinos-in-the-united-states/. Accessed 22 October 2019.

Flores, Antonio, et al. “U.S. Hispanic Population Reached New High in 2018, but Growth Has

Slowed.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 8 July 2019,

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/08/u-s-hispanic-population-reached-new-

high-in-2018-but-growth-has-slowed/. Accessed 21 October 2019.

Martinez, George A. Latinos, Assimilation and the Law: A Philosophical Perspective.

https://escholarship.org/content/qt73x2z9nw/qt73x2z9nw.pdf. Accessed 21 October

2019.

Schhneider, Barbara. “Barriers to Educational Opportunities for Hispanics in the United

States.” Hispanics and the Future of America., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan.

1970, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19909/. Accessed 22 October 2019.

StudiousGuy. “10 Everyday Life Examples Of Conformity.” StudiousGuy, StudiousGuy, 18 Apr.

2019, https://studiousguy.com/everyday-life-examples-of-conformity/. Accessed 21

October 2019.