Date Created

2020

Embargo Date

8-27-2021

Abstract

Individuals who identify as multiracial have been on the rise since interracial marriages became legal in 1967. 2000 was the first Census year in which “two or more races” was an option for individuals to identify themselves. Most previous research focuses on individuals whose racial heritage is a mixture of Black and white. While this research is rich and informative, it fails to incorporate individuals that identify as two or more marginalized racial identities such as Black/African American and Hispanic or Asian Pacific and Native American. The current study will address this gap in research by focusing on individuals who identify as two or more marginalized racial identities and how that influences their racial identity development. More specifically, this research seeks to determine how identifying as multiracial with two or more marginalized racial identities influences an individual’s racial identity development by qualitatively exploring the life experiences of multiracial individuals that identify as two or more marginalized races through 20 to 30-minute semi-structured interviews. This study compares participants’ responses to each stage of Poston’s Biracial Identity Development Model to determine if the model describes the experiences of racially mixed marginalized populations as well as the biracial population. Multiracial individuals are faced with unique challenges within society, such as experiencing duality among their racial identities, not feeling like they belong, and learning to navigate life through a multiracial lens. It is important to understand this growing population and their racial development journeys.

Abstract Format

html

Disciplines

Sociology

Keywords

Multiracial; marginalized; racial identity development

Download

Included in

Sociology Commons

Share

COinS