Betwixt, Between and Beyond: Racial formation and "mixed race" identities in New Zealand and Singapore

Abstract

"Mixed race" identities are increasingly important for academics and policy makers around the world. In many multicultural societies, individuals of mixed ancestry are opting to identify outside of traditionally defined racial categories, posing a challenge to systems of racial classification, and to sociological understandings of "race". Singapore and New Zealand provide key examples of the complex relationship between state categorization and individual identities. Both countries are diverse, with high rates of intermarriage, and a legacy of colonial racial organization. Yet each represents the opposite end of the spectrum in addressing "mixed race": multiple ethnic options have been recognized in New Zealand for several decades, while symbolic recognition is only now being implemented in Singapore. This research brings out the numerous ways in which individual identity can diverge from official classification. Personal narratives reveal the creative and flexible ways in which people cross boundaries, and the everyday negotiations between classification, heritage, experience, and nation in defining identity.