Ethnic-Racial Socialization Through the Lens of German Young Adults of Turkish, Kurdish, East and Southeast Asian Heritage

Abstract

The present study explored how racially marginalized German young adults narrate their ethnic-racial socialization growing up in Germany. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 German young adults of Turkish, Kurdish, East, and Southeast Asian heritage (aged 18-32 years, Mage = 26.7, SD = 3.08, 16 women, seven men, and three non- binary). Reflexive thematic analysis resulted in five themes. Young adults growing up learned: 1) what it means to be Turkish, Kurdish, East and Southeast Asian across settings, 2) racialization through a mixture of explicit, implicit, and subtle discrimination experiences, 3) resistance for survival, 4) resistance for liberation through displays of self-advocacy, and consequently 5) moved from “avoidance and help-seeking” to “action and solidarity” as strategies of resistance against racism. These findings expand our understanding of ethnic- racial socialization among racially marginalized youth in Germany and highlight the need for providing resistance strategies to youth not only to survive but also to disrupt racism.