Mixed-up Kids?: Race, Identity and Social Order [Paperback]

Tina G. Patel (Author)

Book Description

Transracial adoptees, children of mixed parentage, children of setteld immigrant families - more and more children are growing up in mixed-race families and social environments. And there is increasing variety within this mixed-ness. Yet services for them have been bogged down by restrictive policy and practice guidelines based on: outdated and problematic ideas about essentialised racial identities; and, the supposed need for children to commit fully to one of these identities (usually the black minority ethnic one) in order to minimise identity problems and experiences of discrimination.Of great significance to anyone working with such children and young people - in social work, adoption and fostering, education, youth work and youth justice - this book asks: why essentialist ideas about a single identity tend to dominate; what the consequences are for those who actively choose not to identify themselves as having a single racial identity; and, how policy and practice can be improved.Patel provides thought provoking analyses of existing literature, and calls for recognition of these individuals, for example those who were transracially adopted as children, and whose reflective narratives form a major part of this book. She offers suggestions on how we can best serve their needs and facilitate their access to racial identity rights. She covers such issues as: racism in a black and white society; the implications of assigned binary black or white racial labels; the construction of various social relationships, with an insight into the complex issues involved in their racialised negotiations; and, ways of supporting mixed-race people to express multiple identity status."Mixed-up Kids" argues for better and more informed ways of thinking about how racial identity is flexible, diverse, and possesses a multiple status; and how such thinking will progressively lead to an improvement in the child, family and community support services which seek to assist some of the most vulnerable and marginalised members of society, namely black minority ethnic and mixed race children. As the book presents the narratives of six adults who had been transracially adopted as children, it is of special interest to anyone working in the field of adoption and fostering. It will also be of compelling interest to academics, researchers and students in the social sciences, especially sociology, social work and family/community studies; and of direct practical value to child, family and community support workers. It can serve both as a handbook on which to base policy and practice, and as a tool for considering key issues in the area.

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About the Author

Tina G. Patel is a lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at Liverpool John Moores University. Her main research and teaching interests are: race and the racialisation process; identity and marginalisation; black minority ethnic family formations and community networks; and black minority ethnic groups and the criminal justice system.

Product Details

• Paperback: 159 pages
• Publisher: Russell House (December 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1905541384
• ISBN-13: 978-1905541386
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,666,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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