Visibly ethnically different families in Denmark & Sweden: experiences of (psycho) social in/exclusion

8th Congress of the European Society on Family Relations (ESFR)
Changing Family Relations – Gender and Generations
August 31 - September 3, 2016, TU Dortmund University, Germany
Workshop: Family relations and migration: Recent trends and analyses
Visibly ethnically different families in Denmark: experiences of (psycho) social in/exclusion
This paper foregounds visibly ethnically different families (Phoenix, 2011) in Denmark These comprise both families with parents from two different countries (India and Denmark) and families with transnational adoptees (South Korea). The former are barely scientifically explored due to the dominant colorblindness discourse, while later comprise a heated topic challenging poor (global south) adoptee meeting a loving Danish family’ discourse.
How do these family members narrate their experiences of societal encounter is the research question. which is answered through two qualitative interview studies of intermarried persons N =14, (Singla, 2015) and transnational adoptees N= 35 (Myong, 2011) respectively. The narratives are analysed for the meaning making processes within theoretical frameworks comprising of intersectionality combined with everyday life approach in the former and poststructuralism in the latter.
The results indicate both the possibilities and the limitations involved, highlighting the internal - intersubjective experiences, and the external aspects - the structural factors, other(s) gaze towards the visible differences. Furthermore some parental experiences in transmitting racial literacy- identifying racism as a serious problem and preparing children to cope are seen. For the transnational adoptees, inclusion as Danish implies exclusion from categories such as Korean. Also anxiety from the adoptive family regarding exclusion/alienation entails ambivalences and paradoxes.
Alongside colorblindness, limited/ missing racialisation discussions, the visible bodies of spouses, children in the mixed families and the transnational adoptees are made salient in their everyday lives in interactions with the white majority population through experiences as gaze, curious questions concerning the ethnic origin or direct exclusions.

Word count: 250

Rashmi Singla