Ethnocentrism within Latino ethnic group

Question

Using at least 6 complete sentences, describe ways in which you have observed or heard others demonstrate ethnocentrism within your own ethnic group: Latino or Hispanic.

Answer 1

There are two perspectives on understanding various cultures: cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. Cultural relativism refers to understanding another group's culture based on that group's own social norms, values, and standards. Ethnocentrism, on the other hand, refers to understanding another group's culture based on your own social norms, values, and standards. The distinction between these perspectives lies in "whose" standard is being used to explore and understand another group's culture. Ethno-centric contains "ethno," which means culture and "centric" which means center. Thus, when we judge another group's culture based on our own standards, and not the expectations of that group, we are taking an ethnocentric perspective.

For instance, if you are Latino, an ethnocentric interpretation of American culture may state that "Americans lack family values and cohesion." You may judge American culture this way, because, based on your own culture, families are expected to show mutual obligation and close attachment. However, a more culturally relativist view would state that "American families are more individual-based, because of their larger cultural values of individualism and self-reliance. As you can see, ethnocentrism refers to judging a culture based on your own cultural standards, not the cultural expectations of that group.

Now, you want to ask yourself, how have members of your own ethnic group practiced ethnocentrism when evaluating another group's culture?

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