“Who Are You Trying To Be?”: Identity Gaps Within Intraracial Encounters

Abstract

Abstract This study employs the Communication Theory of Identity (CTI) to explain and describe the interpenetration of personal, enacted, and relational frames of identity within the context of interracial communication encounters. Specific examples, derived from focus group discussions, of personal-relational and personal-enacted-relational identity gaps experienced by Blacks and Hispanics are presented. The article concludes with a discussion of the conditions under which satisfying communication is achievable in difficult situations requiring the negotiation of ethnicity. Keywords: EthnicityIdentityIdentity GapsRace Additional informationNotes on contributorsDarlene K. Drummond Darlene K. Drummond (PhD, Ohio State, 2000) is an assistant professor in the School of Communication, University of Miami, P.O. Box 248127, Coral Gables, FL 33124-2105. Mark P. Orbe Mark P. Orbe (PhD, Ohio University, 1993) is a professor in the School of Communication and the Gender and Women's Studies Program, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008.