Charmaine L. Wijeyesinghe

RACIAL IDENTITY IN MULTIRACIAL PEOPLE

Janice T. FolkMulticultural Issues in Student Affairs

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIRACIAL IDENTITY

THEORY

Race/Racial Groups – socially constructed concepts that divide the population into subgroups based on real or perceived differences

in physical appearance or place of ancestral origin.

Ethnicity/Ethnic Groups – socially constructed subcategories of racial groups that emphasize shared geographical, historical, and

cultural experiences of different people.

Racial/Ethnic Ancestry – race and ethnicity claimed by a person’s ancestors.

Ascribed Racial Group Membership – racial group(s) that are applied to an individual by others based on factors such as physical appearance, racial ancestry, and the social construction of race at a

given point in time.

Monoracial/Multiracial – either a person’s racial ancestry, person’s chosen racial identity, a racial group membership ascribed to

a person, or a person’s chosen racial group membership.

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Self-identification not defined by the young

person’s ethnic background.

Person is pushed to choose a racial identity. People are

influenced to choose a monoracial identity.

Factors that influence a person’s decision as to how to

identify:• Support or status• Physical appearance• Cultural knowledge• Political involvement• Personality Difference

1. Personal Identity2. Choice of Group

Categorization

POSTON MODEL OF BIRACIAL IDENTITY

DEVELOPMENT

Guilt and confusion for choosing identities that did

not fully match their ancestry.

Self-hatred. Lack of acceptance from one or

more group.

Resolution of these feelings would lead to…

Greater valuation of all their identities.

3. Enmeshment/Denial 4. Appreciation

POSTON MODEL OF BIRACIAL IDENTITY

DEVELOPMENT

Biracial people appreciate all their racial ancestries.

Wholeness and integration.

5. Integration

POSTON MODEL OF BIRACIAL IDENTITY

DEVELOPMENT

Stage One

Awareness of Differentness & DissonanceBetween ages 3-10

Not feeling like they belong.

Comparisons with others resulted in devaluing of self.

KICH MODEL OF BIRACIAL AND BICULTURAL IDENTITY

Stage Two

Struggle for AcceptancePursuit of acceptance by others in the face of experiencing

differentness.

“Passing” – taking on behaviors of a racial group – typically of higher status.

Devaluing biracial selves.

Self-exploration, understanding, and identity resolution.

KICH MODEL OF BIRACIAL AND BICULTURAL IDENTITY

KICH MODEL OF BIRACIAL AND BICULTURAL IDENTITY

Stage Three

Self-Acceptance and Assertion of an Interracial Identity

Increasing acceptance of self-determined Biracial and Bicultural identity.

Wijeyesinghe, C., & Jackson, B. W. (2001). New perspectives on racial identity development: a theoretical and practical anthology. New York: New York University Press.

REFERENCES