Mixed family life in the UK : an ethnographic study of Japanese-British families

This book offers a nuanced picture of mixed family life in the UK. Specifically, the book explores how parents from different backgrounds create a place of belonging for their children, while also negotiating difference and attempting to transmit various aspects of their cultures, including religion, hobbies, language and food to their mixed children. Based on data collected from 26 months of fieldwork, the author concludes that the intergenerational transmission of culture, instead of being tied to the idea of "national culture", is actually more organic and fluid, allowing individuals to share their "cultures", from traditions and customs to preferences and habits, with the next generation. As mixedness increasingly becomes the norm in our global society, the book will be of interest to students and scholars of race, ethnicity and family studies, as well as social workers, school teachers, counsellors, and parents and kin of mixed children. Acknowledgements 7 Contents 9 1 Introduction 10 On Living Mixedness 10 Mixedness Scholarship 12 “First Wave” 12 “Second Wave” 12 Mixedness Scholarship: Continuing to Develop 15 Background and Context 16 Japanese in Britain 16 Japanese Women 17 Mixed Unions 18 Mixed Offspring 19 British Story 19 Japanese Story 20 Global Mixedness 21 Terminology 22 Methodology 25 Sample 25 Research Sites 27 Edinburgh, UK 27 Data Collection 28 Research Access 29 The Road to the 12 Families 29 Playgroup Participant Observation 30 Recruitment 30 Observations 31 Playgroup Observations 31 Events Observations 32 Home Observations 32 Interviews 33 Interviewees 34 Interview Locations 35 Interview Structure 35 Languages Used in Interviews 36 Ethics 36 Children 37 Anonymity 38 Organisation of the Book 38 Conclusions 39 References 40 2 Doing Family: Exploring Everyday Lived Culture 47 Overview 47 The Home 48 Home Décor 48 Contributions from Men 50 Exploring Children’s Spaces 52 Religion 55 Christianity, Buddhism or “No Religion” 56 Negotiating Religions 58 Leisure 61 Television 61 Programming Choices for Older Children 62 Programming Choices for Younger Viewers 64 Enrichment Activities 65 Rituals 69 Holidays 70 Public Celebrations 74 Conclusions 75 References 77 3 Bilingualism: A Gift or a Burden? 81 Bilingualism 82 Heritage Language Speakers 84 Languages and Families 85 Learning a Language 87 Two Languages 88 Young and Ambitious 88 Communication Challenges 91 Bilingualism: Fantasy Versus Reality 96 External Support 96 A Labour of Whose Love? 98 Bilingualism: An Uphill Battle 100 Conclusions 107 References 108 4 Food Choices in Mixed Families 112 Overview 112 Reading About Eating 113 Marriage and Food 113 Mothers and Food 114 Children and Food 115 Migration and Food 116 Children’s Evolving Food Preferences 117 The Horizontal Transmission of Food 120 Japanese Foods Abroad 122 Beyond Food 124 Where to Eat? 126 Negotiating Foodwork Responsibilities 127 Eating with the Relatives 135 Conclusions 137 References 139 5 Kin: Intergenerational Transnational Relationships 142 Overview 142 All About Family 143 In-Laws 144 Kin 145 Migration 146 Transnational Families 146 Family: As Self 147 Revisiting the Family of Origin 147 Family: As a Couple 151 In-Law Relationships 151 Women and in-Laws 151 Men and in-Laws 156 Family: With Children 159 “What Are They?” 160 Support and Maintenance 163 Maintaining Contact 164 Visits to Japan 165 Sharing Cultures 168 What to Pass on? 170 Conclusions 173 References 175 6 Forming a Mixed Family Culture: In Search of Home and Friends 179 Overview 179 Migrating in Search of “Home” 180 Marriage and Migration 180 Searching for a Community of Friends 181 Women’s Social Networks 182 Men’s Social Networks 183 The Mixed Family’s Social Networks 184 Finding “Home” 185 Reasons Behind Migration 186 Migration Experiences 188 There’s no Place like Home 190 Finding Friends in Their New Home 196 The Mother’s Social Network 196 The Father’s Social Network 200 Children’s Friends 204 Family Friends 206 Conclusions 210 References 212 7 Conclusions 217 Concluding Thoughts 217 Contributions from the Study 219 Reflections from the Field 224 Limitations 226 Further Research 229 Final Words 231 References 232 Glossary 235 Index 238 Annotation Offers a nuanced picture of mixed family life in the UK. Specifically, the book explores how parents from different backgrounds create a place of belonging for their children, while also negotiating difference and attempting to transmit various aspects of their cultures, including religion, hobbies, language and food to their mixed children. Based on data collected from 26 months of fieldwork, the author concludes that the intergenerational transmission of culture, instead of being tied to the idea of 'national culture', is actually more organic and fluid, allowing individuals to share their 'cultures', from traditions and customs to preferences and habits, with the next generation Front Matter ....Pages i-ix Introduction (M. Nakamura Lopez)....Pages 1-37 Doing Family: Exploring Everyday Lived Culture (M. Nakamura Lopez)....Pages 39-72 Bilingualism: A Gift or a Burden? (M. Nakamura Lopez)....Pages 73-103 Food Choices in Mixed Families (M. Nakamura Lopez)....Pages 105-134 Kin: Intergenerational Transnational Relationships (M. Nakamura Lopez)....Pages 135-171 Forming a Mixed Family Culture: In Search of Home and Friends (M. Nakamura Lopez)....Pages 173-210 Conclusions (M. Nakamura Lopez)....Pages 211-228 Back Matter ....Pages 229-238 M. Nakamura Lopez. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.