Exploring the experiences and identities of 18-25 year old mixed-ethnic individuals with a kin connection to Islam

这个项目关注的是更好地理解与伊斯兰教有联系的混血个体所经历的多重身份的交集。在这样做的过程中，我希望挑战在英国社会中经常重现的对穆斯林的本质化描绘，相反，调查混合种族的个体如何参与独特而流畅的融合之旅，以适应他们的混合种族以及对他们身份的其他影响，包括性别、性取向和国籍。考虑到这一点，以下影响：文化，性别，宗教和国籍，将通过讨论参与者的社会活动，对婚姻和关系的态度，有关宗教和文化的问题，以及未来的希望和期望，汇集在一起。预计这将阐明下列社会问题：与异性的关系、性别期望、服装选择（谦虚）和饮酒——因为这些都是青年人面临的伊斯兰教与西方之间关系紧张的众所周知的领域。研究问题：与伊斯兰有血缘关系的混血儿如何理解和表现他们的自我？与伊斯兰有联系的混血儿如何描述他们的成长历程？对于英国女性来说，穆斯林混血家庭中最主要的紧张关系是什么？作为一名与伊斯兰教有联系的年轻英国混血女性，管理相互冲突的文化道德有多难？在过去的15年里，英国的“多民族”身份越来越多，这可以用越来越多的多民族联盟来解释，这些多民族联盟正在产生后代，而且社会对多民族联盟的接受程度也越来越高（Song, 2017）。官方文件的发展也支持了越来越多的可接受性模式，例如2011年人口普查，有67万人自我认同新的自我认同的种族类别：“混合”（国家统计局，2012年）。许多研究得出结论，多民族个体拥有一个或多个民族起源，这反过来又产生了复杂的种族和民族认同范围（Kidd， Teagle和Kessler-Harris, 2012; Song, 2017; Miyawaki, 2018）。尽管在一个崇尚超级多样性和文化混合的社会中，混合越来越“正常化”，但多民族的人仍然经历着本质化的模式，即他们融合在一起，而不管他们独特和个人的种族背景（Murji和Solomos， 2015）。现有的大多数关于混血身份谈判的研究都集中在黑人/白人混血儿如何谈判他们外表的肤色线（Song & Parker, 2011, p.30）。因此，本研究的关键目标之一是通过超越“黑人”和“白人”二元对立，探索一系列在社会学学术讨论中被边缘化的种族背景，从而将自己与这些作品区分开来。其他社会特征，包括社会阶层、性别、地理位置和家庭组织也被忽视，这也导致了对多民族人民身份和经历的简化描述（Murji和Solomos， 2015）。我的研究目的是探索多民族的人如何经历和谈判宗教，多民族和性别如何相互交叉，这还没有在伊斯兰教中得到探讨。从历史上看，Collins（1986）认为身份可以位于“统治矩阵”中，因为身份协商经常发生在社会等级的交叉点上。我的研究旨在通过探索伊斯兰教、多种族背景和流行的男性气质和女性气质观念之间的流动关系，特别是这些影响如何在不同的背景下相互作用和竞争，为这一思路做出贡献。

This project is concerned with better understanding the intersection of multiple identities experienced by mixed-ethnic individuals who have a connection to Islam, it . In doing so, I hope to challenge essentialised depictions of Muslims that are often reproduced in British society and instead, investigate how mixed-ethnic individuals engage in a unique and fluid journey of blending to accommodate for their mixed-ethnicity as well as other influences on their identities including, gender, sexuality and nationality.With this in mind, the following influences: culture, gender, religion and nationality, will be brought together by through discussion of the participants social activities, attitudes toward marriage and relationships, issues concerning religious and cultural affiliations, and future hopes and expectations. It is anticipated that this will shed light on the following sociological interests: relations with the opposite sex, gendered expectations, clothing choices (modesty) and alcohol consumption- as these are well known areas of tension between Islam and the West that young people face.Research questions:How do mixed-ethnic individuals with a kin connection to Islam understand and perform their selfhood? How do mixed-race individuals with a connection to Islam describe their journey growing up?What are the key areas of tension in mixed-race Muslim families for British females?How difficult is it to manage conflicting cultural morals, as a young British mixed-race female with a connection to Islam?The U.K has seen growing figures of 'multi-ethnic' identities in the last 15 years, this can be explained by the rising number of multi-ethnic unions that are producing offspring but also, the increasing acceptability of multi-ethnic unions in society (Song, 2017). The pattern of growing acceptability has also been supported by developments on official documents such as the 2011 Census which saw 670,000 self identify with the new self-identifying ethnic category: 'Mixed' (Office for National Statistics, 2012). A number of studies have concluded that multi-ethnic individuals embrace one or more of their ethnic origins which in turn produces a complex scope of racial and ethnic identifications (Kidd, Teagle and Kessler-Harris, 2012; Song, 2017; Miyawaki, 2018). Despite the increasing 'normalisation' of mixedness in a society which celebrates super-diversity and cultural hybridity, multi-ethnic people still experience patterns of essentialisation whereby they are merged together, regardless of their unique and individual ethnic background (Murji and Solomos, 2015). The majority of existing research on mixed-race identity negotiation focuses on how black/white biracial negotiate the colour line of their physical appearances (Song & Parker, 2011, p.30). Therefore, one of the key objectives of this study is to distinguish itself from these works by moving beyond the 'black' and 'white' binary and explore a range of ethnic backgrounds that have been marginalised from sociological academic discussion. Other social characteristics including social class, gender, geographic location and organisation of family are also neglected which has also resulted in simplified depictions of the identities and experiences of multi-ethnic people (Murji and Solomos, 2015). My research aims to explore how multi-ethnic people experience and negotiate how religion, multi-ethnicity and gender intersect with one another, which has not yet been explored in relation to Islam. Historically, Collins, (1986) argues that identities can be situated within a 'matrix of domination' as identity negotiation often occurs within the intersections of social hierarchies. My study aims to contribute to this line of thought by exploring the fluid relationship between Islam, multi-ethnic backgrounds and popular notions of masculinity and femininity and specifically how these influences situate ad contest with one another in different contexts.