What are the advantages and problems for South Asians in Britain adopting a 'black' identity? Give reasons for your answer

Authors Avatar

09/05/2007                0232748

Course: Sociology 2h

Examination no: 3274833

Matriculation no: 0232748

Word count: 2639

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND PROBLEMS FOR SOUTH ASIANS IN BRITAIN ADOPTING A ‘BLACK’ IDENTITY?

GIVE REASONS FOR YOUR ANSWER

What are the advantages and problems for South Asians in Britain adopting a ‘black’ identity? Give reasons for your answer

Introduction

Migrants from the Indian subcontinent to Britain have a long history, but it was not until after World War Two that there was a dramatic increase in the both the scope and scale of South Asians travelling to this country. Due to labour shortages in the 1950s and 1960s, the number of visible minorities rose substantially and families reunited during the 1970s resulting in permanent settlement. The effects of chain migration between kinship and family networks resulted in distinct communities that were “very successful in reproducing much of their social and cultural world”, mainly concentrated in London, Bradford, Birmingham and Manchester (Lewis, 1994: 17). By the 1990s, ethnic minorities were approximately 10% of the total population but in mainly self-contained communities. Unfortunately, colonial stereotypes persisted and Britain’s white majority have racialised British South Asians as outsiders with limited recognition of their distinctiveness.

To adopt a ‘black’ identity is clearly not an easy process in an historically racist and imperialist nation within a secularised, Western culture. Advantages for South Asians in Britain adopting a black identity could slowly emerge in the 21st century as second generations establish new ethnicities within the binary oppositions of ‘Asianness’ and ‘Britishness’ (Dwyer, 1999: 11). This article aims to explore the issues facing British South Asians, in particular since the Gulf Wars and Salman Rushdie affair of the 1990s, which resulted in media hype about the presence of ethnic minorities. After a brief description of recent political challenges to Asian communities, the stereotypes which have developed in relation to gender roles are considered, in addition to an exploration of the contested and reconstructed identities of second generation British Asians.

Identity

Identity is never static, but constantly evolving in relation to local, national and global influences. According to Giddens (1991), contemporary society enables individuals to adopt an identity described as a reflexive project by choosing from a range of lifestyles, presented in the media as part of a mass culture. However, ethnic minorities have less freedom in an often racist, discriminatory environment, which has been heightened since the public burning of The Satanic Verses novel by Bradford’s Muslims (Lewis, 1994: 154). The Gulf Wars and September 11, 2000 terrorist attack has led to further suspicion and resentment towards religious differences, especially fundamentalists. In addition, racial attacks dramatically increased from 300 reports in 1988 to 832 in 1993 (Saeed et al, 1999: 834). Thus, the options available to South Asians in Britain to assert a social identity, often centred around religion, are contested between two cultures.

Until the 1980s, South Asians were labelled as belonging to a ‘black’ political identity in mainstream discourse to include all non-whites. It was assumed there were similar struggles, among Afro-Carribeans, those of African origin and migrants from the Indian sub-continent, against racism. However, the political hegemony of ‘blackness’ was incorrect since it ignored the ethnic diversity of South Asians. Modood (1994) postulated a number of reasons why ‘black’ is an inaccurate description, including its narrow focus on colour discrimination and ignorance of cultural racism towards growing, cohesive Asian communities. By the late 1980s, the media had begun to recognise diverse ethnic groups, and the 1991 Census also included more options for individual identification of ethnicity.  However, these limited political adjustments are just the beginning for a necessary wider social acceptance of difference in Britain by the majority culture.

Join now!

Stereotypes

It is important to recognise “that stereotypes derive their content from their social context, but operate as objectified knowledge” (Burr, 2002: 836). Common assumptions about a particular ethnic group develop from everyday observations and social interaction on a local scale, but then fabricates into a general ‘rule’ that is assigned to all Sikhs or all Pakistanis. For centuries, Westerners have been keen to categorise everything from animal species to food and now distinct groups of people. However, cultural stereotypes are generally negative and this was highlighted in Burr’s (2002) recent study of mental health care professionals’ attitudes ...

This is a preview of the whole essay