Disrupting the Myth of Raceless Latinidad: A Quantcrit Examination of Racialization and Color-Neutral Ideology in Shaping Discrimination Among U.S. Latinx/e Adults

Background and Purpose:
Discrimination and racism are well-documented drivers of negative health and social outcomes. Among U.S. Latinx/e populations, experiences of external racialization differ across dimensions such as racial identity, phenotype, and skin tone. However, much existing research treats Latinx/e communities as monolithic, overlooking meaningful intragroup differences—especially in how discrimination is perceived and reported. One critical but understudied factor is the role of color-neutral racial attitudes. Influenced by mestizaje racial ideologies—a dominant ideology across Latin America that emphasizes racial mixture—some Latinx/es may downplay the salience of race. These attitudes may suppress the recognition or acknowledgment of racial discrimination. Using QuantCrit (Quantitative Critical Race Theory), this study examines how color-neutral racial attitudes and perceived racialization (“street race”) interact to predict everyday discrimination. Specifically, it explores whether Latinx/e individuals racialized as Black report discrimination differently based on their level of endorsement of color-neutral racial ideology.

Methods:
This cross-sectional study used a Qualtrics-hosted survey distributed via Prolific. Participants (N=287) were eligible if they were 18 or older, self-identified as Latinx/e, and resided in the United States, including Puerto Rico. Quota sampling ensured adequate representation of AfroLatinx/e participants (N=98). Key measures included street race (perceived external racialization) and the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale. The outcome variable, everyday discrimination, was assessed using the validated Everyday Discrimination Scale, with responses rated on a 6-point Likert scale (0=Never to 5=Almost every day) and summed to create a continuous score. Higher scores indicate more frequent experiences of discrimination. A linear regression model estimated main and interaction effects, testing whether perceived racialization moderated the relationship between color-neutral attitudes and everyday discrimination, controlling for age, gender, income, nativity, and nationality. Consistent with a QuantCrit approach, “Hispanic/Latino” was selected as the reference category for street race to decenter whiteness and allow for examination of differentiated racialization within Latinx/e communities. Historical context was also used to interpret findings and disrupt dominant narratives of a raceless Latinidad.

Results:
Participants racialized as Black reported significantly higher levels of everyday discrimination compared to those racialized as Hispanic/Latino (β=5.09, p=.030), confirming racialized disparities within Latinx/e populations. A significant interaction emerged between street race and color-neutral attitudes: among those racialized as Black, higher endorsement of color-neutral ideology was associated with lower reported discrimination (β=-0.120, p=.050).

Conclusions and Implications:
Findings suggest that color-neutral attitudes may suppress recognition or acknowledgment of racial discrimination, particularly among AfroLatinx/e individuals. These findings underscore the importance of examining both external racialization and internalized racial ideology when assessing racism within Latinx/e communities. Using “Hispanic/Latino” as the reference group enabled a clearer analysis of intragroup differences, revealing how racialization shapes experiences of discrimination. Rooted in the historical legacy of anti-Blackness in Latin America and the Caribbean—where colonial ideologies of racial hierarchy, mestizaje, and erasure persist—these findings illustrate how such legacies continue to inform the racialization of AfroLatinx/e individuals in the U.S. This study calls for racially conscious interventions and anti-racist policies that affirm AfroLatinx/e identity and advance their equity.