Overcoming the odds: constricted ethnicity in middle-class Romà

• Published in: Identities (Yverdon, Switzerland) Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 191 - 209
• Main Authors: Prieto-Flores, Òscar, Puigvert, Lídia, Cruz, Iñaki Santa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 01-03-2012; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Acculturation; Assimilation; Cultural assimilation; Ethnic Identity; Ethnicity; Middle Class; Minority & ethnic groups; Racial Differences; Rom; Romà; segmented assimilation; Social conditions & trends; Social identity; Social interaction; Social Mobility; Spain; U.S.A; United States of America; United States > US; Europe
• ISSN: 1070-289X; 1547-3384
• DOI: 10.1080/1070289X.2012.672856

How are different ethnic groups dealing with upward social mobility and assimilation? This is a large question that social research has tried to address in recent decades. In the United States, this issue has been framed by the theory of segmented assimilation. In Europe, regarding the Romà, the assumption still exists that upward mobility paths are intrinsically associated with a loss of ethnic identity, due to a process of full acculturation to the mainstream. In this article, through an analysis of 48 in-depth interviews with middle-class Romà in Spain, we identify other mobility paths, such as selective acculturation, that exist in addition to full acculturation. In this sense, we observe how symbolic differences exist between those middle-class Romà who live in an ethnic enclave and have a strong network of support and those who do not. In most cases, middle-class Romà tend to live outside the enclave and experience what we have called constricted ethnicity.