Centering the White Gaze: Identity Construction among Second-Generation Jamaicans and Portuguese

Abstract

This article examines identity construction among second-generation Jamaicans and Portuguese in Toronto. The research question guiding this study is as follows: in a "multicultural" Canadian setting, are there differences between the ways second-generation diasporic Jamaicans and Portuguese define themselves, both ethnically and racially, and how others see them? To address this line of inquiry, I conducted 43 in-depth interviews with second-generation Jamaicans and Portuguese in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This study also seeks to lay bare the impact of racialization on identity construction. Since both the Jamaican and Portuguese participants of this study are mostly working-class immigrants for whom class is defined through a neo-Marxist lens, it is easier to discern the impact of race on identity construction when the role of class is held constant. Furthermore, comparison of the two groups is utilized to delineate distinct degrees of racialization within the two groups: one is a "visible" minority while the other is a non-visible minority. Based upon my interviews and my review of the literature, I argue that Portuguese are seen as dark-whites in Toronto due to their social class and their non-Anglo-Saxon culture. On the part of Jamaicans, society in general defines Jamaicans as black as a result of slavery, power relationships, and color symbolism.

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