She studied a group of teenage second and third
generation Muslim girls and looked at their
attitudes and beliefs on a range of topics and issues.
She found that families are important in shaping
the identities of young Muslim women. While they
want their independence through education and a
career, they don't want to break family links.
Asian Families
Anwar
Argued that Asian families socialize
children into a pattern of obligation,
loyalty and religious commitment,
which, in most cases, they accept.
However, he noted three issues that were seen
to be causing tension between Pakistani parents
and children in regard to their cultural identity:
1) Western clothes, especially for girls. 2)
Arranged marriage. 3) The question of freedom.
On these issues, the family can be a site of
conflict between generations, the younger
generation has socialized with people with
very different values and attitudes.
Ghuman
Outlined some of the
socialization practices of the first
generation of Asian parents :
Children were brought up to
be obedient, loyal to and
respectful of their elders and
the community around them.
Social conformity was
demanded and individualism
was not encouraged.
The choice of education
was left in the hands of
their parents
The choice of marriage
partner was thought to
be best left to parents.
Children were taught
the drawbacks of
dating, pre-marital sex
and the disadvantages
of love marriages.
Religious training was considered to
be very important because it
reinforces values. The role of
mother-tongue was seen as crucial in
maintaining links between
generations.
Ballard
Examined South Asian families in Britain and found that many
first-generation migrants saw British culture as attaching little value to
family honour and placing relatively emphasis on maintaining kinship ties
As a result many first-generation
immigrants became very cautious and
conservative in their attitudes to family
life. They wanted to ensure that standards
of behaviour in the family did not slip and
that children were kept under close
scrutiny
He found that young
second-generation Asians had
the experience of two cultures
- they behaved in ways that
fitted into the culture of the
wider society for part of the
time, but at home conformed
to their ethnic subculture.
Bhatti
She carried out research into 50 British Asian
families in the South of England. The
research was largely based upon in-depth
interviews, most of which were with Muslims
of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin,
She found that there was a continuing
emphasis on loyalty to the family and on
trying to maintain traditional practices
related to marriage. For example, most
families were keen to maintain links with
relatives in Bangladesh or Pakistan
Bhatti found that izzat, or family
honour, was taken very seriously,
with particular emphasis being
places on the behaviour of
daughters, /she found mothers saw
their roles as being of paramount
importance
Religion
Jacobson
Studied young Pakistanis and found that they
see Islam as crucial in creating their identity. It
has a strong impact on their identity in terms of
diet, worship, dress, behaviour and their
everyday routines and practices
For many it is a defensive
identity, created as a response
to being excluded from white
British society
Gardner and Shakur
Found that among young
Bengalis, allegiance to
Islam was becoming more
common
They argue that this is
because it provides young
Bengalis with a sense of
support and gives them a
postive identity denied by
white culture
Mass Media
Gillespie
Notes that one way in which the media helps to shape
ethnic identities is through allowing geographically
dispersed communities to keep in touch with cultures
that exist in their perceived countries of origin.
For example, she shows how television
and videos are used to recreate the
culture of South Asians in Britain.
The media also helps create new ethnic identities to
emerge. She found that young British Punjabis use
television and videos to redefine their ethnic identities.
They actively experience
different cultures and mix
them into new identities.
This might include aspects of
the American Dream
ideology alongside
identification with other
Muslims. These can be called
Hybrid identities.
Gilroy
Argues that young African-Caribbeans often
adopt identities based around influential
media role models such as 50 cent.
Gangsta rap and hip-hop
in particular, accessed
through MTV and other
tv channels, have been
powerful influences.
The adoption of aspects of
the gangsta rap lifestyle
often symbolizes
opposition to white society.
Education
Mac an Ghaill
Carried out an ethnographic study of 25
African-Caribbean and Asian students studying A
levels in a sixth-form college in the Midlands, where
he found some teachers held racist attitudes.
Later he found that in response to such racism students develop
survival strategies in order to resist negative labelling. This includes
ethnic minority groups forming close relationships and subcultures.
Fuller
Has also documented how ethnic identity may be used
to resist racial stereotyping in school. She outlined how
young black females resisted discrimination, forming a
close group and resisting negative non-academic labels.
Basit
Conducted interviews with 24 Muslim girls, their parents and 18
of their teachers. By comparing the views of the non-Asian
teachers she interviewed with those of the girls themselves, Basit
found some common misconceptions existed about Asian girls.
For example, most teachers recognized that Islam was
important to the girls. However, many of them saw it as an
oppressive religion into which girls were indoctrinated. The girls
themselves, on the other hand, did not see religion as oppressive.
Likewise, the teacher thought that
family life was oppressive for the girls
and they saw arranged marriage as
being undesirable. The girls,however,
had very different perceptions. They had
little or no sense of oppression,
New Ethnic identities
Postmodernists
Have developed the idea of 'hybridity' to refer to
the mixing of two or more cultures in a
'pick-and-mix' approach to identity construction.
Charlotte Butler
Studied young third-generation Muslim
women women and found that they choose
from a variety of possible identities, Some
will choose to reflect their ascribed position
through wearing of traditional dress, while
others may take a more 'negotiated'
postition
This may mean adopting
Western ideas about
education and careers
while retaining some
respect for traditional
religious ideas about the
role of women.
Johal
His study of third-generation British
Asians, who he termed 'Brasians',
found that they have a dual identity
in that they inherit an Asian identity
and adopt a British one.
This results in Asian youth 'code-switching' and adopting a 'white
mask' in order to interact with white peers at school or college, but
emphasizing their cultural difference when they feel it is necessary.
Les Back
Observed how new hybrid
identities have been emerging
among young people in
Britain. In his study of two
council estates in South
London, he found that British
white, black and Asian
youngsters were trying out
new cultural 'masks'.
His research showed that interracial
friendship and interaction was common
in and around the capital, and that this
produced considerable 'cultural
borrowing' and experimentation in
relation to music, dress and language.
This meant, for example, that white and Asian
youngsters living in these areas were more likely to
listen to rap and reggae music than ,say, pop and rock.
Gill
Carried out a survey among British
Asian sixth form students in the West
Midlands and found they could identify
groups of students and being 'Brasian'.
This new ethnic identity includes a
'black' style of dress, black
linguistic forms and musical tastes,
friendship groups that included
black youths and physical
appearance that imitates black
style.