The New Color Complex: Appearances and Biracial Identity |
The New Color Complex: Appearances and Biracial Identity
Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research
2001
Volume 3, Number 1
Pags 29-52
David L. Brunsma, Associate Professor of Sociology
University of Missouri, Columbia
Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Associate Professor of Sociology
University of Illinois at Chicago
Ethnic identity research has largely focused on the identity choices of White ethnics (Alba, 1990; Ignatiev, 1995; Waters, 1990). One key factor in these choices is bodily appearance. We extend this research to Black and White Biracial individuals and examine the role that physical appearance plays in their “choices” of racial identity. We test Rockquemore’s (1999) taxonomy of Biracial identity using survey data from a sample of 177 Biracial respondents. The results indicate that Biracial individuals do make choices within circumscribed cultural contexts and these understandings are influenced not by skin color, but by an actor’s assumption of how others perceive his or her appearance.
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Tags: David L. Brunsma, Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, Kerry Ann Rockquemore