Multiracial Identity and Racial Politics in the United States

by Natalie Masuoka

While pundits point to multiracial Americans as new evidence of a harmonious ethnic melting pot, in reality mixed race peoples have long existed in the United States. Rather than characterize multiracial Americans as a "new" population, this book argues that instead we should view them as individuals who reflect a new culture of racial identification. Today, identities such as "biracial" or "swirlies" are evoked alongside those more established racial categories of white, black Asian and Latino. What is significant about multiracial identities is that they communicate an alternative viewpoint about that a person's preferred self-identification should be used to define a person's race. Yet this definition of race is a distinct contrast to historic norms which has defined race as a category assigned to a person based on certain social rules which emphasized things like phenotype, being "one-drop" of African blood or heritage.

In Multiracial Identity and Racial Politics in the United States, Natalie Masuoka catalogues how this cultural shift from assigning race to perceiving race as a product of personal identification came about by tracing events over the course of the twentieth century. Masuoka uses a variety of sources including in-depth interviews, public opinion surveys and census data to understand how certain individuals embrace the agency of self-identification and choose to assert multiracial identities. At the same time, the book shows that the meaning and consequences of multiracial identification can only be understood when contrasted against those who identify as white, black Asian or Latino. An included case study on President Barack Obama also shows how multiracial identity narratives can be strategically used to reduce anti-black bias among voters. Therefore, rather than looking at multiracial Americans as a harbinger of dramatic change for American race relations, this Multiracial
Identity and Racial Politics in the United States shows that narratives promoting multiracial identities are in direct dialogue with, rather than in replacement of, the longstanding racial order.

280 pages, Hardcover

Published September 27, 2017

About the author

Natalie Masuoka is Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Asian American Studies Program at Tufts University. Her research specializes in the area of American racial and ethnic politics with a focus on political behavior, public opinion and political psychology. Her work pays attention to the ways in which race, immigration and identity influence political attitude formation among racial minorities, in particular those new immigrant groups, Asian Americans and Latinos. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine.

Reviews

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tackles a very difficult topic in a very clinical way. It’s difficult to read unless you find reading a scientific paper interesting. It was hard to follow in my opinion because of the divisions made. I didn’t understand all the variables included in an individual statement. I don’t think it’s actually possible to break down what she attempted to break down in this book. It may be a useful topic but I don’t see having this many ways of analyzing people’s feelings about various political matters based on how they view their own race. It’s important to realize from the outset that this book is 100% about politics. I found a lot of it very tedious to plow through. I’m not sure what I know now that I didn’t know before.

[Mills College Library]

305.80097 M424 2017