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BJSW Advance Access published online on November 23, 2005
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch390
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.

Article

A Contested Identity: An Exploration of the Competing Social and Political Discourse Concerning the Identification and Positioning of Young People of Inter-Racial Parentage

Ravinder Barn 1 * and Vicki Harman 2

1 Professor of Social Policy and Social Work at Royal Holloway, University of London
2 Lecturer in Social Policy and Social Work at Royal Holloway, University of London

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Ravinder Barn, E-mail: r.barn{at}rhul.ac.uk


  Abstract

The development of racial and ethnic identity of minority ethnic children and young people in contemporary multi-racial Western society remains an important academic concern. More recently, a relatively new debate about the identity and ‘correct’ labelling of children of inter-racial relationships has been brewing in British academic literature. Nowhere is this more vociferous and intense than in the field of social work. This paper identifies two competing perspectives vying for position in this ideological and political battle. It is argued that whilst overall consensus may not be possible or even desirable, it is important to explore these ideological positions as they play a key role in influencing social work policy and practice.

Keywords: identity, black, mixed, anti-racism, post-modernism, social work.
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