Subject: Mr. CPresenter: Rebecca RothsteinSWK 542-033Adelphi University School of Social WorkProfessor Abu-Rass12/17/09

“I am a Man of Consequences”

Background

Mr. C is 46 years old and identifies as a Puerto-Rican male. He is the oldest of four brothers that were all born

in Queens, N.Y. Both of his parents came to the United States from

Puerto Rico during the 1960s when there was an increase in migration.

The focus of our interview was on race and gender related issues

Racial issues Nuyorican vs. Puerto-Rican Nuyorican- Second or third generation

Puerto-Ricans that live in the New York area and are raised in American culture (Johnson, 2009).

Puerto-Rican- A person who has Puerto-Rican lineage (Johnson, 2009).

Mr. C was given the label of Nuyorican by family members which can have pejoritive undertones VS

Mr. C was physically disciplined by his father at the age of eight for not fighting back when bullies accused him of being gay

He described himself as a shy kid, not as outgoing or aggressive as his brothers

Mr. C was told by his dad to “stop acting like a fag and be a man”.

He took care of his accusers the next day

Gender issues at home

Gender issues in professional life Mr. C is working as a

dispatcher while going to school for nursing

Professors have openly discouraged him and female classmates have questioned his sincerity

Family members have told him that nursing is a “woman’s job” and he feels that they question his manhood

research literature I reviewed covered gender

role expectations in Puerto-Rican culture, evolving history of term nuyorican, and brief history of Puerto-Rico

Important term for social workers to know regarding gender role:

Machismo- “Interaction of social, cultural, and behavioral components forming male gender-role identity in the sociopolitical context of the Latino Society” (Torres, 1998).

x Generally associated with aggression and dominance which is also how Mr. C was raised to be a man. Torres argues though, there are positive aspects such as empowerment.

Research continued Research on evolution of term

Nuyorican Johnson (2009) argues it was once a

pejoritive Now there is a Nuyorican Poets Café and

famous celebrities such as Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor are proud to give themselves that label.

Final piece research on the history of Puerto-Rico. Early colonization remains polarizing issue for PR who debate independence (Bonilla-Santiago, 2004).

Mr. C was oppressed based on gender, race, and ethnicity

He struggled with cultural expectations of gender roles during childhood and now during adult life as he pursues a career in nursing. Faced oppression and discrimination from family and classmates.

Regarding race/ethnicity, oppressed by family for being nuyorican. Also faced prejudice/stereotyping during High School.

Stereotypes, advantages/disadvantagesx Common stereotypes

about PR: all on drugs, in a gang, like to get girls pregnant at young ages, lazy, good in bed, poor, feisty, not willing to learn English, prideful, feed off the government.

x Advantages to being PR Male: head of the family, culture of respect (respeto) and pride.

x Disadvantages: Heavy responsibility placed on males, supposed to be strong and not show emotions.

It all comes together

Oppression/Discrimination is enforced and maintained by our society’s institutions on down to our individual families’ cultural values.

Mr. C’s family are practicing Catholics whose religious institution reinforced their traditional gender beliefs

Mr.C’s experiences with oppression have resulted in feelings of stigmatization/powerlessness which is often the case with oppressed groups

This interview allowed me to get to get to know my client better and I believe as a result I will be a better advocate for him

references Bonilla-Santiago, Gloria. (2004) Social Work Practice

with Puerto-Ricans (pp.571-591). In Morales, A. & Sheafor, B. (Ed.). (2004) Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Johnson, Reed. (2009, May 30). Nuyoricans bask in the spotlight. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com

Pharr, S. (2007) Homophobia as a weapon of sexism. (pp. 168-177). In Rothenberg, P.S. (Ed.). (2007) Race, class, and gender in the United States: An Integrated Study (6th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.