Mixed Race Identities - (Identity Studies in the Social Sciences) by P Aspinall & M Song (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This book explores the ethnic and racial options exercised by young mixed race people in Britain. It reveals the diverse ways in which young people identify and experience their mixed status, the complex nature of such identities, and the rise of other identity strands which are now challenging race and ethnicity as dominant and salient identities.

Review Quotes

"What is it like to be racially mixed in Britain? Is it different to be mixed Black and White than to be mixed Chinese and Indian? Do such people see themselves as multiracial, or do they hew to one of their ancestral identities? If other Britons see mixed people differently than they see themselves, is that a problem? In an era when more and more people are mating and marrying across formerly forbidden lines, and when mixed identity is a real option, how significant is race anyway? What is the future for multiracial people - and what is the future for race - in the UK? Peter Aspinall and Miri Song have answers to these questions and many more, based on systematic, wide-ranging social scientific research. Their conclusions are presented in lucid prose amid a wealth of survey data and compelling personal stories. This is an essential book for understanding mixed race in Britain." - Paul Spickard, Professor of History, University of California, USA

"If anyone asks what the next step in the research on multiraciality is, tell them to read Aspinall and Song. This is the next step." -David L. Brunsma, Professor of Sociology, Virginia Tech, USA

About the Author

Peter J Aspinall is Emeritus Reader at the University of Kent, UK. He has over 60 academic papers published on race and ethnicity. He was ONS National Convenor for the ethnicity question in the ONS 2001 Census Development Programme.

Miri Song is Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, UK. She is the author of Choosing Ethnic Identity and Helping Out: Children's Labor in Ethnic Businesses, as well as several co-edited volumes concerning 'mixed race' people and their experiences.