In contemporary British society, references to ‘mixed race’ people and to various forms of mixing abound. But to what extent can we say that there is ‘a’ mixed race group in Britain today? If such a group exists, what commonalities underlie the experience of being mixed? In addressing this question, I draw on a study of the racial identifications of different types of mixed young people in Britain. I find that the meanings and significance of race and mixedness in these young people’s lives can vary considerably both across and within specific mixed groups. In conclusion, I argue that while there is evidence of a growing consciousness and interest in being mixed, we cannot (yet) speak of a coherent mixed group or experience in Britain.
Ali, S. ( 2003) Mixed-race, Post-race: Gender, New Ethnicities and Cultural Practices. Oxford: Berg.
2.
Alibhai- Brown, Y. ( 2001) Mixed Feelings: The Complex Lives of Mixed-Race Britons . London: The Women’s Press .
3.
Alibhai-Brown, Y. and Montagu, A. ( 1992) The Colour of Love. London: Virago.
4.
Anthias, F. and Yuval-Davis, N. ( 1992) Racialised Boundaries. London: Routledge.
5.
Aspinall, P. ( 2003) ‘The Conceptualisation and Categorisation of Mixed Race/ Ethnicity in Britain and North America’, International Journal of Intercultural Relations27(3): 269-96.
6.
Back, L. ( 1996) New Ethnicities and Urban Culture. London: UCL Press.
7.
Barn, R. ( 1999) ‘White Mothers, Mixed Parentage Children and Child Welfare’, British Journal of Social Work29(2): 269-84.
8.
Barn, R. and Harman, V. ( 2006) ‘A Contested Identity: An Exploration of the Competing Social and Political Discourse Concerning the Identification and Positioning of Young People of Inter-racial Parentage’, British Journal of Social Work36(8): 1309-24.
9.
Berthoud, R. ( 1998) ‘Defining Ethnic Groups: Origin or Identity?’ , Patterns of Prejudice32(2): 53-67.
10.
Bonilla-Silva, E. ( 2004) ‘From Bi-racial to Tri-racial: Towards a New System of Racial Stratification in the USA’, Ethnic and Racial Studies27(6): 931-50.
11.
Bradford, B. ( 2006) ‘Who Are the "Mixed" Ethnic Group?’London: Office for National Statistics.
12.
Brah, A. and Phoenix, A. ( 2004) ‘Ain’t I a Woman? Revisiting Intersectionality’ , Journal of International Women’s Study5(3): 75-86.
13.
Caballero, C., Edwards, R. and Smith, D. ( 2008) ‘Cultures of Mixing: Understanding Partnerships across Ethnicity’, 21st Century Society3(1): 49-63.
14.
DaCosta, K. ( 2007) Making Multiracials. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
15.
Edwards, R. and Caballero, C. ( 2008) ‘What’s in a Name? An Exploration of the Significance of Personal Naming of "Mixed" Children for Parents from Different Racial, Ethnic, and Faith Backgrounds’, Sociological Review56(1): 39-69.
16.
Gilroy, P. ( 2004) After Empire. London: Routledge.
17.
Harris, D. and Sim, J. ( 2002) ‘Who is Multiracial? Assessing the Complexity of Lived Race’, American Sociological Review67(4): 614-27.
18.
Herman, M. ( 2004) ‘Forced to Choose: Some Determinants of Racial Identification in Multiracial Adolescents’, Child Development75(3) (May/June): 730-48.
19.
Hewitt, R. ( 1986) White Talk, Black Talk. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
20.
Ifekwunigwe, J. ( 1999) Scattered Belongings. London: Routledge.
21.
King, R. and DaCosta, K. ( 1996) ‘Changing Face, Changing Race: The Remaking of Race in the Japanese American and African American Communities’, pp. 227-45 in M. Root (ed.) The Multiracial Experience . London: SAGE.
22.
Knowles, C. ( 2003) Race and Social Analysis. London: SAGE.
23.
Luke, C. and Luke, A. ( 1998) ‘Interracial Families: Difference within Difference’ , Ethnic and Racial Studies21(4): 728-54.
24.
Mahtani, M. ( 2002) ‘What’s in a Name? Exploring the Employment of "Mixed Race" as an Identification’, Ethnicities2(4): 469-90.
25.
Okitikpi, T. ( 2005) ‘Identity and Identification: How Mixed Parentage Children Adapt to a Binary World’, in T. Okitikpi (ed.) Working with Children of Mixed Parentage . Lyme Regis: Russell House.
26.
Olumide, G. ( 2002) Raiding the Gene Pool. London: Pluto Press.
27.
Olumide, G. ( 2007) ‘People in Harmony’, pp. 27-30 in J. Sims (ed.) Mixed Heritage: Identity, Policy and Practice . London: Runnymede Trust.
28.
Owen, C. ( 2007) ‘Statistics: The Mixed Category in Census 2001’ , pp. 1-5 in J. Sims (ed.) Mixed Heritage: Identity, Policy and Practice. London: Runnymede Trust.
29.
Parker, D. and Song, M. ( 2001) ‘Introduction’, pp. 1-22 in D. Parker and M. Song (eds) Rethinking ‘Mixed Race’. London: Pluto Press.
30.
Platt, L. ( 2009) ‘Ethnicity and Family. Relationships within and between Ethnic Groups: An Analysis Using the Labour Force Survey’. ISER (Institute for Social and Economic Research), University of Essex.
31.
Rockquemore, K. and Brunsma, D. ( 2002) Beyond Black. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
32.
Root, M. (ed.) (1992) Racially Mixed People in America. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
33.
Root, M. (ed.) (1996) The Multiracial Experience. London: SAGE.
Song, M. ( 2004) ‘Who’s at the Bottom? Examining Claims about Racial Hierarchy’, Ethnic and Racial Studies27(6): 859-77.
36.
Song, M. ( 2009) ‘Is Intermarriage a Good Indicator of Integration?’ , Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies35(2): 331-48.
37.
Song, M. ( 2010) ‘Does "Race" Matter? A Study of Mixed Race Siblings’ Identifications’, Sociological Review58(2).
38.
Song, M. and Hashem, F. ( 2010) ‘What Does "White" Mean? Interpreting the Choice of "Race" by Mixed Race Young People in Britain’, Sociological Perspectives53(2).
39.
Spickard, P. ( 1989) Mixed Blood. Madison: University of Wisconsin.
40.
Stonequist, E. ( 1937) Marginal Man. New York: Russell & Russell.
41.
Tashiro, C. ( 2002) ‘Considering the Significance of Ancestry through the Prism of Mixed-race Identity’, Advances in Nursing Science25(2) (December): 1-21.
42.
Tizard, B. and Phoenix, A. ( 1993) Black, White or Mixed Race?London : Routledge.
43.
Twine, F.W. ( 2004) ‘A White Side of Black Britain: The Concept of Racial Literacy’, Ethnic and Racial Studies27(6): 878-907.
44.
Waters, M. ( 1990) Ethnic Options. Berkeley: University of California Press.
45.
Wilson, A. ( 1987) Mixed Race Children. London: Allen & Unwin.
46.
Young, G. ( 1997) ‘Beige Britain’, GuardianG2, 22 May.
47.
Yuval-Davis, N., Kannabiran, K. and Vieten, U. ( 2006) Situated Politics of Belonging. London : SAGE.
