Neoliberal influence on Latino male identity: power and resistance in a school-based mentorship program for Latino boys

Abstract

A growing number of school district and community organizations are seeking to address a ‘crisis’ of Latino male education through the creation of Latino male mentorship programs. Indicative of neoliberal shifts in urban education, these programs often involve public-private partnerships and bring problem-solving, deficit-approaches to youth work. This article examines the construction of Latino male identity in one Latino male mentorship program. Drawing from two years of ethnographic research, I analyze the ways the perceived cultural deficits of Latino boys in the program are dictated by a neoliberal multicultural imaginary. This framing positioned the program as combating popular racial and heteropatriarchal deficits assigned to Latino boys. Furthermore, ethnographic data illustrate the ways the neoliberal values of meritocratic individualism, smart consumerism/market-orientation, and benevolent hetero-patriarchy were embodied and practiced. I close by highlighting moments of resistance and refusal enacted by one mentor to challenge deficit-framings of Latino male mentoring.

Keywords:

• Latino boys
• boys of color
• neoliberalism
• school-based mentorship
• role models

Disclosure statement

There are no potential conflicts of interest to report.

Notes

1 Pseudonyms have been assigned to all people, organizations, schools, and cities in this study.

2 While this study focuses specifically on non-Black Latino men and boys, a larger push to address “boys of color” informs the creation of this program. The literature typically uses the term boys of color to include Black, Latino, Native American, and Asian boys. Although I use the term boys of color when drawing from the literature, I note that despite the commonalities of these groups, they are not the same.

3 These quotes were retrieved from program flyers. They were not quotes gathered during this study’s interviews with students.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship.

Notes on contributors

Michael V. Singh

Michael V. Singh is an assistant professor in the Department of Chicana/o Studies at UC Davis.