Examine sociological explanations of the ways in which ethnicity may shape social identity.

An ethnic group is a social category who shares a common culture, such as common language, a common religion, or common norms, customs, practices and history. Britain is described as a multicultural (existence of two or more distinctive ethnic groups within one society) country due to the integration of a mass of ethnic minority groups. Johal’s (1998) findings show that second and third generation British-Asians have a dual identity. He found that Asian youth was adopting a “white mask” in order to socialise with their white peers at school or college, but stressing their cultural difference when they feel it is necessary. He stated that many British-Asians adopt a hybrid identity and chose aspects of British, Asian and global culture to build their identity. This is a factor that shapes their social identity because they change language, dress, fashion, music and food to ‘fit in’ at school where they may have white peers, but then when they are with their family they have to change back as their family may not be modern. So basically, they are living two lives, where they have multiple identities, which is made up of their ethnicity, where they have lived and their Britishness. This is assimilation, which is the process by which ethnic minorities adopt the mainstream culture. It is also stated by Roger Ballard (1994) that young Asians manage to navigate between them with relative ease, they simply switch codes, in their parent’s home they fit into Asian cultural expectations, but outside of their home they will try to blend into the mainstream. This is known as cultural navigation. The younger generations of the ethnic minority groups may try to mix in more with the mainstream as they have to make friends as they educate, the younger generation like to socialise through being like the mainstream, whereas older generations are used to their birthplace and therefore may try very little to mix in with the mainstream.
Anwar (1981) suggests that family could be a