The New Color Complex: Appearances and Biracial Identity
- 1 July 2001
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Identity
- Vol. 1 (3), 225-246
- https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532706xid0103_03
Abstract
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.Keywords
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