ethnic identity and sociologists

ethnicity

associated with minority groups in from former British colonies

ignored significant ethnic groups such as Greek cypriots, Jews, Irish people

Mason 2000

pointa out many British white people tend to see ethnicity as something other minority groups have. causes us and them divide which leads to prejudicial state,ents about minority ethnic groups

Banton 2000

suggests ethnicity is becoming increasingly recognised as something everyone has, especially as questions about it are included in the Census.

family reinforces ethnic identity

**Bhatti**

* Carried out research into 50 British Asian families of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin
* found out there was continuing emphasis on loyalty to the family and most families were keen to maintain links with relatives in Bangladesh or Pakistan.
* found about family honour with taken very seriously with emphasis being placed on the behaviour of daughters and motherhood and child rearing were regarded as most important role and duty in life

education reinforces ethnic edentity

**Basit**

* conducted interviews with 24 British Muslim girls their parents and eighteen of their teachers most teachers recognised that Islam was important to the girls however many of them saw it as an oppressive religion into which girls were indoctrinated the teachers thought that family life was oppressive for the girls and they saw arranged marriages as being undesirable
* the girls however had very different perceptions they had little or no sense of oppression they respected their elders and any restriction on their behaviour was seen as protective not submissive.

media reinforced ethnic identity

**Sreberny**

* suggests that ethnic minorities are represented by two-dimensional characters and are often stereotyped
*  Coronation Street - a black character who helped burgle a house and an Asian family who took over the corner shop
* ‘come fly with me’ - difficult to asses laughing with ethnic stereotype and laughing at

media reinforced ethnic identity

**Edward Said**

**Edward said** - white people tend see Islamic identity as extreme and fanatical.

* Such views undermine the relationship between Islam and western culture creating hostility.
* Islamophobia has become the norm in UK since 911 because the media has done little to challenge mistaken assumptions about what being a Muslim in the UK involves.

Peer groups reinforce identity

**Tony Sewell**

\
**Tony Sewell** - cultural comfort zones. we like to associate with those who are similar to ourselves

* African Caribbean boys like to associate with their peers of the same ethnicity rather than be with white or middle class students this reinforces shared sets of values among these groups.

changing - ethnic identity changing

hybridity

* A hybrid is a cross between two or more things to create something entirely new
* A hybrid identity is when someone sense of who they are is a mixture of two or more influences
* can clearly be seen with ethnicity nationality and identity as an individual may identify as a British person but also a Muslim and a Pakistani
* create groups such as ‘brasian’ and ‘blasian’
* can be found in the white British population too the influence of immigration and global culture

changing - white wannabes

**Nayak**

* White wannabes is a term used by Nayak describe white British males who dress, act and speak in a way that is influenced by black hip hop culture.
* can be seen in the character of Ali G created by Sacha Baron Cohen
* for example multicultural London English or often called jafaican refers to the style of speech and accent used in areas of London by young white people influenced by African Caribbean speech
* not in an attempt to imitate Jamaican beach but a product of multicultural nature of London where groups of white and black people influence each other

changing - white masks

**Johal**

* Johal focused on 2nd and 3rd generation Asians
* they have a dual identity in that they inherit an Asian identity and adopt a British one
* Asian youth adopt a white mask in order to interact with white peers at school but emphasise their cultural difference whenever they feel it necessary creating a hybrid identity

changing - Compart-mentalism

**Ghumann**

* suggest that Hindu and Sikh girls use compartmentalism to cope with the twin pressure of parental restriction an racial prejudice and keep their two aspects of identity separated
* they learn to think and behave as obedient and respectful daughters at home but wear European style clothing and speak English at school
* some Asian girls have to give up their hope of a future under concept an arranged marriage
* **BBC Asian Network** study in 2018 found that more than half of respondents say that they've toned down their Asian identity in order to better fit into British society

changing - Neighbourhood nationalism

**Les Back**

observed how new hybrid identity's have been emerging among young people in Britain.

studied 2 council estates in South London UN found that interracial friendships was common in underground the capital and that it produced cultural borrowing in relation to music, dress and language

resistance - young Pakistanis and Islamic identities

**Jacobson**

* Argues that many young Pakistanis are adopting his strong Islamic identity as a response to social exclusion from white British society
* found that young British Muslims face difficulties on problems and a strong Muslim identity gives them a sense of stability
* positive embracing of an Islamic identity as a form of defense and resistance to marginalization and racism

resistance -  invisible culture and white backlash against multiculturalism

**Hewitt**

* young white people sometimes feel they inhabit an invisible culture
* they feel a deep sense of unfairness because every court has seemed to be celebrated excepting their own
* for example the union flag and the flag of St. George were regarded with suspicion because their association with far right racist groups


* argues that in response to this invisible culture and a feeling that white identity cannot be celebrated, there has been a white backlash against multiculturalism
* policies designed to achieve equality have been perceived as unfair to the white community end perceived as positive discrimination in favour of ethnic minorities

resistance -

**Spencer and Dawney**

* Due to the expansion of the eu, growing numbers of ethnic minorities are white with an ethnic origin from central or Eastern Europe.
* Evidenced that they may face similar issues relating to resentment racism and discrimination as those from Asia faced in previous decades
* found that Eastern European migrants spent relatively little time socialising with British people and said that the British people do not let them into their circles


* research done by the **London School of economics** found that there was a rise in hate crime after the Brexit referendum and that it altered the dominant social norm by publicly revealing the anti immigrant views across the country