Ethnicity

• Ethnic Identity (ethnicity) 


  The recognition of cultural distinctiveness that people share, based on common descent, geographical origins, history, language, or religion. It is socially constructed.
• Alexander - the art of being black

  • Found 'symbolic markers' of being black in youth in London
  • Certain ways of dressing, walking, talking, handshakes, rap music, and slang were all recognisable as 'black' culture
• Poole

  • Found large amounts of Islamophobia in the media using content analysis
  • Nearly all articles mentioning muslims were negative and linked to terrorism
  • This stereotype was only accepted by people who didn't have muslim friends
• Ghuman

  • British Asian children's socialisation greatly differed to mainstream white British norms and values
  • Emphasis on respecting elders and being inter-dependent rather than individualistic
  • Importance of mother-tongue, most were bi-lingual
• Hewitt

  • Young white people from deprived London areas felt it was unfair that every culture was celebrated except their own 'invisible culture'
  • Tried to adopt symbols of an 'English' cultural identity but found they were associated with far-right racist groups
  • Need a way of allowing white people to be proud of their traditions in a non-racist way
• Back

  • Multitudes of hybrid identities are now being created through swapping ideas from heritage cultures to fuse norms.
  • E.g. white youth with dreadlocks, Asian youth using reggae in their music, Black youth into pop music and baking.
• Johal

  • Second/Third generation British Asians are referred to as 'Brasian' which generalises the diversity of Asia but accepts being British
  • Dual identity - adopt a 'white mask' to interact with peers, but emphasise their cultural difference when necessary
  • Carefully negotiated their associations with religion, some upheld it as a form of 'empowerment through difference'
  • Pressure to integrate and assimilate
• Modood

  • Longitudinal study of 2nd and 3rd generation African Caribbeans living in Birmingham
  • Less religious in contrast to the 1st generation Pentecostal Christians
  • Less use of cultural dialects and language
  • Many considered themselves as black rather than West Indian, and choose not to wear turbans
• Giddens - hyper ethnicity

  • Rejection of assimilation - emphasising cultural differences and traditional heritage norms
  • May be a reaction to racism or the challenges of postmodern society - traditional ideologies offer a more simple explanation of life