“I Think of Myself as Norwegian, Although I Feel that I Am from Another Country.” Children Constructing Ethnic Identity in Diverse Cultural Contexts in Oslo, Norway

Bibliographic Data

ID23660768
AuthorsMari Rysst (corresponding author)
Year2016
Pages159-177
Publication date2016-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueContested Childhoods (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherSpringer International Publishing (PUBLISHER • SG)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-44610-3_9
OpenAlexW2543108731
ISBN9783319446103
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited14

This chapter discusses the challenges childrenChild, children of foreign-born parents face in their ethnic identityEthnic identity constructions in Norway through three overarching theoretical approaches: childhood studiesChildhood, childhoods studies and children’s perspectives; shifting selvesShifting selves , subject positionsSubject positions and genderGender ; and notions of hybridityHybridity and social classification. The challenges the children face include contesting and navigating cultural values of both their parents’ country of origin and the country in which they are born. As bricoleurs and competent navigators of culture, the identity constructions of young teenage boys and girlsGirls relate to the dichotomous social categories of “Norwegian” and “foreigner.” Ethnic identityIdentity ethnic construction is discussed by four connected themes: “one foot in two cultures”; the importance of appearance—skin colourAppearance skin colour ; the importance of appearance—clothesAppearance clothes ; and the importance of language. Most of the children construct hybrid identitiesHybridity hybrid identities , for instance as Norwegian-Pakistani which, for girls, may or may not include an Islamic-inspired feminine dress code of covering up in addition to a particular social dialect. The complex relationship between gender, ethnicity, age, and religion regarding ethnic identity construction has various expressions depending on social context. This suggests that future studies of migrancyMigrancy and hybridity may fruitfully be combined with postcolonial theory emphasizing both the phenomenon of “third spaces”Third spaces and the importance of shifting selves depending on social contexts. Combining these theoretical perspectives may allow us to elucidate how ascribed ethnic identities and migrancy frameworks may be approached in order to reduce the intensity of contested childhoodsChildhood, childhoods contested in the future.

Aesthetics · Art · Childhood studies · Developmental psychology · Ethnic group · Face (sociological concept) · Hybridity · Identity (music) · Linguistics · Norwegian · Social constructionism · Social group · Social identity theory · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Children's Rights and Participation · Early Childhood Education and Development · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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