Ethnicity and Identity (AQA A-Level Sociology): Revision Notes
Ethnicity and Identity
What is ethnicity?
Ethnicity refers to the shared characteristics of social groups, typically based on common cultural elements. It describes smaller groups that are not originally part of the native population, often called ethnic minority groups. These groups may face social disadvantages due to prejudice or discrimination within their host society.
Ethnicity differs from nationality in that it focuses on cultural bonds rather than legal citizenship. In diverse societies where people have migrated from various parts of the world, they often maintain many of their original cultural traditions. This leads them to become part of particular subcultures - groups with shared cultural traits that distinguish them from the broader society.
Examples of easily recognisable subcultures in the UK include ethnic groups such as Indian, Polish, Pakistani and Somali communities. Members share common identity markers including food traditions, dialects or languages, beliefs, and other cultural practices rooted in their ancestral background and shared experiences.
Nationality and national identity
Nationality represents the legal connection between an individual and a country, involving specific rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The concept of a nation relates to geographical divisions of the world into states - areas administered by national governments with clearly defined boundaries.
Anderson (1983) introduced the concept of the 'imagined community' - the idea that people living within certain geographical boundaries develop a sense of belonging to a particular nation. People imagine themselves as part of a specific nationality for various reasons.
However, research suggests that national identity is declining as a source of personal identity in Britain. The Populus Survey for the Searchlight Educational Trust (2011) found that people increasingly identify with distinct English, Scottish and Welsh identities rather than British identity. The survey revealed that 39% of people would rather classify themselves as 'English' than 'British'.
Globalisation and the emergence of a 'global culture' are eroding traditional national values and customs. British society comprises a wide range of ethnic groups (Welsh, Scottish, Irish, English, Indian, Pakistani, African-Caribbean, etc.), making it difficult to define 'British identity'. The rise of multiculturalism has created a second generation of ethnic minorities who consider themselves mostly, but not entirely, British. They have adopted what sociologists call a 'hybrid identity'.
Key theorists on national identity
Hall (1992) suggests that every nation possesses a collection of stories, images and symbols about its shared experience, which people use to construct and express their national identity. National identity forms through socialisation agencies that pass it from one generation to the next, and is reinforced through rituals and ceremonies.
Palmer (1999) argues that national identity is promoted and maintained through heritage tourism, using historical symbols of the nation to attract tourists.
A 2004 British Social Attitudes Survey found that most people defined 'Britishness' as speaking English, holding citizenship and respecting the country's laws and institutions.
What does it mean to be British?
Britain has become a multicultural society and continues to become more diverse. Ethnic identity is no longer simply about cultural difference - it has evolved into a collective urban culture that incorporates elements of popular culture, such as fashion and music, merging them with aspects of both minority and majority cultures.
This hybrid culture may positively affect relationships between majority and minority cultures in the UK, which have previously been characterised by suspicion, hostility and, in majority culture contexts, racism.
Key perspectives on British ethnicity
David Mason (2000) defines ethnicity as a form of cultural distinctiveness, centred around the belief that descent, origin and traditions are shared. Mason argues that British people view ethnicity as something that other groups possess. Such categorisation may lead to stereotypical and imagined assumptions about other ethnic groups.
Sometimes categorisation justifies the cultural superiority of powerful groups. Edward Said (1935-2003), a Palestinian-American intellectual, believed that romanticised representations of the Arab world led Westerners to form caricatured views of both Islam and Muslims.
The Life in the UK citizenship test, introduced in 2005 and updated in 2014, represents an attempt to define British values and culture. The test emphasises British history and achievements, requiring knowledge of cultural facts, political structures, and national symbols. This policy aims to integrate immigrants by establishing shared cultural knowledge.
From September 2014, every school in England was required to promote British values, including:
- Democracy
- Rule of law
- Individual liberty
- Mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs
New ethnic identities in the UK
Many young British people have complex heritages and construct their identities in new ways. Sociological research indicates that new ethnic identities are emerging, particularly among Britain's younger minority ethnic citizens.
Hybrid identities
Les Back (1996) observed how new hybrid identities have emerged among young people in Britain. In his study of two council estates in South London, he found that British white, black and Asian young people were creating new cultural masks. His research showed that interracial friendships and interactions were common in and around the capital, producing considerable cultural 'borrowing' and experimentation in music, dress and language. White and Asian youngsters in these areas were more likely to listen to rap and reggae music than pop and rock.
Research Example: Dual Identities
Johal and Bains (1998) reinforced the concept of hybridity through their research on 'dual identities'. They developed the notion of third-generation British Asians, or 'Brasians', who use multiple different identities depending on their social context. These young people engage in a process of code switching - assuming more Western, white identity and behaviour when among white peers and friends in school settings, then reverting to more traditional Asian identity when at home with parents or at places of worship.
However, this home behaviour may face social restrictions due to family pressure and cultural expectations. For example, Pakistani girls might maintain hidden relationships with non-Pakistani boys outside the home without their parents' knowledge, as such relationships are often considered unacceptable within their cultural framework.
The fluid nature of ethnic identities
Research highlights that ethnic identities in multicultural societies are highly fluid. Ethnic identities not only change over time but can also shift in relation to place and context. However, while British Asians may construct new identities influenced by other cultures, as an ethnic minority in Britain they remain among the least likely to marry outside their ethnic group.
Race and ethnic groups
Ethnicity differs from 'race'. Sociologists find the term 'ethnic group' more meaningful than 'race' because ethnic groups are based on shared culture rather than physical characteristics. Ethnic groups share common language, nationality, areas of origin and customs such as food laws and dress codes.
Victorian writers who attempted to classify people according to physical characteristics used the term 'race'. Their categorisation system assumed that white people were superior to all others. Their supposed greater capacity for civilised behaviour was used to justify taking control of countries belonging to other 'races', such as the colonisation of Africa by Europeans.
Scientific research suggests few distinctive genetic differences between members of what most people consider different races, whereas members of the same 'race' often have clear genetic differences such as blood groups and handedness.
How people construct their ethnic identities
Ethnic identities are created and reinforced through both primary socialisation (family) and secondary socialisation (education, media, peers, religion, etc.).
The role of family
The family serves as the most important agent of primary socialisation - the period when individuals first learn about their ethnic heritage. Tariq Modood (2005) describes this as the first time we become aware of our ethnic culture through food, language, dress, rituals and traditions.
Research Example: Chinese Family Values
Miri Song (2003) studied British Chinese families and found that Chinese parents were highly influential in reinforcing Chinese values by positively sanctioning children who chose to help in family businesses. These children were seen as more 'Chinese' because they had adopted Chinese cultural characteristics of family solidarity and collective loyalty.
Families also shape ethnic identity formation by sharing cultural characteristics such as shared history, language, politics, religion and geographical origin.
Religion and ethnicity
People use different sources to construct their ethnicity. Many British Muslims perceive their religious identity as equally important as their national identity, possibly even more important, although they may prefer not to choose between the two.
Ethnic identities as resistance
There are numerous assertive ethnic identity reactions to being denied British identity, which may act as forms of resistance. Jessica Jacobson (1997) notes that young Pakistanis see Islam as more important in structuring their identity than cultural or national loyalties. They view Islam as overcoming national differences, with strong impacts on their diet, worship, dress, behaviour and everyday routines and practices.
The role of schools
Schools shape ethnic identity through the negative experiences of some ethnic minority students. Máirtín Mac an Ghaill (1991) found that some teachers held racist attitudes, and in response to such racism, pupils developed survival strategies to resist negative labelling. This included ethnic minority groups forming close relationships and subcultures.
Research Example: Resisting Stereotypes
Mary Fuller (1994) documented how ethnic identity may be used to resist racial stereotyping in schools. She outlined how young black females resisted discrimination by forming close groups and resisting negative non-academic labels.
The role of media
Media helps shape ethnic identities by allowing geographically dispersed communities to maintain contact with cultures that exist in their perceived countries of origin. Marie Gillespie (2010) shows how television and video are used to recreate south Asian culture in Britain.
Migration and diaspora
During the post-Second World War industrial boom, the British government invited select Commonwealth subjects, particularly from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent, to work in the UK. For African-Caribbean and southern Asian families settling in the UK during the 1950s and 1960s, the migration experience powerfully impacted their sense of identity and culture.
Upon arrival, many immigrants faced open hostility and experienced discrimination in work, housing and education. The response to racism and harsh economic conditions strengthened and reaffirmed traditional forms of ethnicity and identity. Children of migrant families sometimes faced a 'culture clash' - being educated in British schools, mixing with white children, learning English, yet experiencing pressure to retain traditional customs within migrant homes and communities.
The influence of diaspora - the dispersal of ethnic groups from their homeland - is now highly significant. This is reflected in the popularity of world music and interest in different cooking styles. Another example is the rising status of black working-class fashion and music within popular culture, which has enormous global influence partly because black populations have dispersed to many different societies and partly through global media reach.
Contemporary ethnic diversity
The 2011 Census shows that Britain has become increasingly ethnically diverse:
- 86% White (including various white ethnic groups)
- 7.5% Asian/Asian British (including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and other Asian groups)
- 3.3% Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
- 2.2% Mixed/multiple ethnic groups
- 1.0% Other ethnic groups
Social policy and integration
Ethnicity can cause division and conflict in society. A multicultural society must ensure it is not culturally divided. Governments may try to integrate different ethnic minorities by adopting housing and education policies that encourage people from various ethnic groups to mix with one another.
Examples of social policy include the Race Relations Acts of 1965 and 1968, which made racial discrimination illegal in employment, housing and commercial services in the UK. The citizenship test represents another example of government attempts to integrate minority ethnic groups, with policies often emphasising Britishness.
The UK has a long history of immigration, resulting in an Immigration Act that regulates and controls immigration. The purpose of the 2014 Immigration Act is to stop migrants using public services to which they are not entitled, reduce pull factors that draw illegal immigrants to the UK, and make it easier to remove people who should not be present.
Contemporary applications
Teacher expectations, ethnocentric curriculum, negative media representations, policing, courts, immigration laws, discrimination in jobs and housing allocation, and racial violence may all serve to negatively categorise minority identities.
Abercombe and Warde (2000) identify 'project identities' - ethnic identities subscribed to by young African Caribbeans that draw on ethnic history, everyday urban experience and popular culture to subvert and challenge exclusion and racism. They note that music such as gangsta rap and hip-hop is central to this identity type because it represents a reaction to white oppression.
Key Points to Remember:
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Ethnicity is based on shared cultural characteristics rather than physical features, distinguishing it from concepts of 'race'
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National identity is declining in importance, with people increasingly adopting regional identities or hybrid identities that combine multiple cultural influences
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Hybrid identities are emerging among young people, particularly ethnic minorities, who code-switch between different cultural identities depending on social context
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Primary socialisation through family is the most important factor in ethnic identity formation, supplemented by secondary agents like schools, media and religion
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Migration and diaspora have created multicultural societies where ethnic identities serve both as sources of cultural maintenance and as forms of resistance to discrimination