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Social mobility allowing for ethnic identification: reassertion of ethnicity among Moroccan and Turkish Dutch

Document Cited in Related
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12406
AuthorMarieke Slootman
Published date01 August 2018
Date01 August 2018
Social mobility allowing for ethnic identif‌ica-
tion: reassertion of ethnicity among Moroccan
and Turkish Dutch
Marieke Slootman*
ABSTRACT
The emergence of middle-classes that articulate their ethnic distinctiveness leads to discomfort
and bewilderment in many societies. This rejection arises from assimilationist demands and
straight-line integration assumptions which dominate the integration discourse. Relying on
social-psychological theories, this mixed-methods study explores the ethnic identif‌ication of
university-educated second-generation Moroccan and Turkish Dutch. The f‌indings once more
underscore that ethnic and national identif‌ications are not mutually exclusive, nor are ethnic
identif‌ications mere acts of ethnic retention. The f‌indings suggest that social mobility shapes
processes of ethnic identif‌ication in particular ways, in the sense that the belonging and self-
esteem that come with achieving an advanced socio-economic status allow for (and even
encourage) assertion of the ethnic-minority identity; an ethnic identity that is partially rein-
vented. The insights of this study can help nuance the increasingly polarizing and exclusionary
integration debates.
INTRODUCTION
When in 2011 Nasrdin Dchar won the Golden Calf for best Dutch actor (the Dutch equivalent of
the Oscars), in his improvised, emotion-laden speech he exclaimed:
I am Dutch!
I am proud, with Moroccan blood!
I am a Muslim!
And I won a freaking Golden Calf!!
His speech was praised by many, criticized by others. In the context of the assimilationist integra-
tion discourse currently dominant in the Netherlands (as well as in many other countries), such
expressions of minority identif‌ications are often frowned upon. At least, these expressions are not
understood, particularly not when they are voiced by socially-mobile individuals, who are consid-
ered well-integrated into the structural domain. Underlying this bewilderment and distrust lie essen-
tialist assumptions. In this assimilationist discourse, ethnic-minority identif‌ications are understood
as expressions of social segregation and cultural retention, as acts of withdrawal and of disloyalty
to society, all seen as incongruent with the socio-economic achievements. This article shows that
this is a misrepresentation. Based on quantitative and qualitative data, the article depicts the
* Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
doi: 10.1111/imig.12406
©2017 The Author. International Migration ©
2017 IOM
International Migration Vol. 56 (4) 2018
ISSN 0020-7985
This is an open access article under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use,
distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited.

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