Differential Ethnic Options?

Abstract

In the previous chapter, we found that there is often multiplicity, detailed specificity, and fluidity in the racial identifications of many mixed race young people in this study, especially if they are given the opportunity to respond in an open-ended fashion. But when asked to do so, are mixed young people in Britain willing to choose only one ‘race’ — the race they think best describes them? Such a ‘forced choice’ question has been used in the United States as an indicator of the identity options (and by extension, the sense of racial allegiance and membership) of disparate types of mixed people. Are there differences across specific types of ‘mixes’ in terms of whether they opt for their White or minority racial backgrounds or in their propensity to refuse to choose only one ‘race’? And if so, how do we make sense of such group differences? These questions enable us to explore how different types of mixed people may perceive and experience their ethnic options in a variety of ways.