From Puerto Rican to pan-ethnic in New York City

The increasing diversity of the US population has stimulated interest in racial identification, which is complex for phenotypically heterogeneous groups such as Puerto Ricans. We overcome several limitations of the empirical literature on racial identification among Puerto Ricans with a study that is grounded in the experience of Puerto Rican women in New York City. Our analysis focuses on two questions: How do Puerto Rican women in New York identify themselves racially? What are the sources of racial identification? The results indicate that most Puerto Rican women in New York conflate race and ethnicity by designating their race as either 'Puerto Rican' or 'Hispanic'. Moreover, the decision to 'become' pan-ethnic has complex roots. In particular, the effect of skin tone on pan-ethnic identification is conditioned by socioeconomic and neighbourhood characteristics.