Is There Evidence of "Whitening" For Asian/White Multiracial People in Britain?

Growing rates of interracial unions in multi-ethnic societies such as Britain are notable, and point to significant changes in the blurring and possibly shifting nature of ethnic and racial boundaries. Asian Americans who partner with White Americans are assumed to engage in “whitening” – both in terms of their aspirations and their social consequences. Yet little is still known about the aftermath of intermarriage, even in the USA. Drawing on this US literature, this paper considers the whitening thesis in relation to multiracial people in Britain, with a particular focus on Asian/White multiracial people. I draw upon the findings of two British studies – one of multiracial young people in higher education (Aspinall & Song 2013), and another of multiracial people who are parents (Song 2017) – to explore these questions. I argue that conceptualizations of part Asian people (in the USA) as leaning toward their White heritages are often unsubstantiated, and deduced primarily from one key factor: their high rates of intermarriage with White spouses. In addition to the variable ways in which part Asian people may relate to their minority and White ancestries, we must consider the ambivalence, tensions, and contextually variable identifications and practices adopted by multiracial people

Who Is Marketised in Colour-Blind Sweden? Racial and Ethnic Representation in Swedish Commercials 2008–2017

From a social equality representation perspective, advertising should ideally mirror the multicultural composition at the national market, because mass-mediated identity representations may act as cultural resources for those with marginalised identities. To investigate the observance to such an ideal in a context where the ethnic and racial composition of the population saw a rapid change, this article examines 676 Swedish TV commercials in over the period 2008–2017, and analyses the representation of non-White persons of colour (POC). Through this quantitative and qualitative examination, we find that POC are indeed visible in the commercials, but predominantly in the background or playing minor roles. With the, at times, unproportionally high representation of racial and ethnic diversity in Swedish advertising, we find significant tokenism, or in other words, the structurally ineffectual approach common in market-based multiculturalism

Attitudes toward interracial marriages and the role of interracial contacts in Sweden

This paper examines attitudes toward interracial marriages and the relationship between the amount of prior interracial contact and attitudes in Sweden. The analysis is based on an anonymous postal survey conducted in Malmö, Sweden answered by 461 white-European respondents. Several studies in the US address the question of contact and attitudes and find that those who have more interracial contact, especially interracial friendships, have more positive attitudes toward intermarriage. The results show that the majority of the white European respondents can imagine marrying interracially; however, there are clear preferences toward different racial groups. Moreover, as in the US context, respondents who reported interracial friendships, and not general or superficial contacts, are more apt to answer the question about interracial marriage positively

Samira K. Mehta. The Racism of People Who Love You: Essays on Mixed Race Belonging

Review of Samira K. Mehta's The Racism of People Who Love You: Essays on Mixed Race Belonging from Beacon Press

How do mixed Swedes identify themselves

A global trend has shown an increase in intimate partnerships across nationality,race, ethnicity, and religion, and this is also the case in Sweden. As a result, thechildren of these unions (i.e. multiethnic and multiracial persons) are undeniablypart of contemporary society. This study is one of the first studies in Sweden thatsolely focuses on the multiracial and multiethnic population. Based on 21qualitative interviews, this article explores how mixed Swedes identify themselvesand how they experience that they are identified by others using Brubaker’s (2016)conceptualization. The analysis shows that, contrary to the flexibility in how mixedSwedes identify themselves, mixed Swedes experience that people in societycategorize them in a fixed idea of ‘either-or’ – either Swedish or not Swedish. Theidea of being Swedish is strongly connected to the idea of being white; therefore,many mixed Swedes with a non-white phenotype experience that theiridentification as Swedish is not validated. However, some interviewees reject theidea of Swedish as solely being ‘white’ and are actively redrawing what it means tobe Swedish through emphasizing nationality and cultural belonging

Challenging the ‘Swedish’ and ‘Immigrant’ Dichotomy : How do Multiracial and Multi-ethnic Swedes Identify Themselves?

A global trend has shown an increase in intimate partnerships across nationality, race, ethnicity, and religion. As a result, the children of these unions (i.e. multiethnic and multiracial persons) are undeniably part of contemporary Swedish society. This study is one of the first studies in Sweden that solely focuses on the multiracial and multiethnic population and their identity. Based on 21 qualitative interviews, this article explores how mixed Swedes identify themselves and how they experience that they are identified by others. The analysis shows that, contrary to the flexibility in how mixed Swedes identify themselves, mixed Swedes experience that people in society categorize them in a fixed idea of ‘either-or’. The idea of being Swedish is strongly connected to the idea of being white; therefore, many mixed Swedes with a non-white phenotype experience that their identification as Swedish is questioned, and a feeling of misrecognition emerge. However, mixed Swedes who can pass as Swedish also feeling constraints in claiming their identity and feel misrecognized especially when they identify themselves as ‘mixed’

Love ain't got no color? : Attitude toward interracial marriage in Sweden

This dissertation focuses on the geographical area of Malmö, the third largest city in Sweden, and examines the majority society’s opinions and attitudes toward interracial dating, marriage and childbearing. The dissertation is driven by two theoretical frames: the theory of race as ideas constructed through the perception of visible differences and the theory of prejudice and stereotypes. Mixed methods have been chosen as a means of exploring people’s attitudes toward interracial relationships. Quantitative data was collected by means of an attitude survey and the qualitative data was collected by means of follow-up interviews with some of the respondents who participated in the survey. The study shows that although their attitudes vary depending on the different groups in question, the majority of the respondents and interviewees could imagine getting involved in interrelationships and would not react negatively if a family member got involved in such a relationship. The quantitative results address the importance of intimate contacts, in other words having friends of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in having more positive attitudes toward interracial dating, marriage and childbearing. Age, gender, education and the place of upbringing also affects people’s attitudes. The qualitative inquiry probes the reasoning behind the survey results and points to the complicated relations between individual attitudes and the sense of group position. The interviewees’ words depict color-blind ways of talking about attitudes toward interracial marriage and different groups. Ideas of race emerge in this color-blind reasoning and the role of visible difference is highlighted both through the quantitative and qualitative inquiries.Denna avhandling granskar majoritetssamhällets åsikter och attityder till “interracial marriage and relationships” (blandäktenskap och annan blandrelation). Populationen för denna granskning är ett representativt urval av befolkningen i Malmö, Sveriges tredje största stad. Studien drivs främst av två teoretiska inriktningar. Den ena är teorin om “race” (ras) som innebär att race är tankar och idéer som väcks utifrån fysiska och synliga skillnader hos olika grupper. Den andra är teorin om fördomar och stereotyper. Metoden som använts för att undersöka befolkningsmajoritetens attityder är “mixed methods”. Den kvantitativa enkätstudien följs upp med kvalitativa intervjuer till en del av de svarande. Studien visar att även om det finns variationer i val av preferenser beroende på vilken grupp det handlar om, kan majoriteten av respondenterna i enkäten och intervjupersonerna tänka sig att leva i blandäktenskap eller i annan blandrelation. Majoriteten svarar också att de inte skulle reagera negativt om någon i familjen väljer att leva i ett sådant förhållande. Resultaten från den kvantitativa undersökningen tyder på ett starkt samband mellan att ha vänner med olika etnisk bakgrund och i att vara mer positiv till blandäktenskap och blandrelation. Ålder, kön, utbildningsnivå och var man är uppväxt påverkar också attityderna. Den kvalitativa undersökningen utforskar resonemangen bakom resultaten från enkäten och avslöjar en komplicerad relation mellan individers attityder och känslan av grupposition. Intervjupersonernas ordval och uttryckssätt reflekterar ett “färgblint” sätt att tala om attityder till blandäktenskap och olika grupper. I resonemangen bakom färgblindhet framkommer i både enkäten och intervjuerna tankar och idéer om “race” (ras) och betydelsen av fysiska och synliga skillnader hos olika grupper