Middling whiteness: The shifting positionalities of Europeans in China

Abstract

Drawing on ethnographic research, this article explores the multifaceted, situational and shifting social boundaries in the translocational positionalities of middle-class Swiss migrants in China. The analysis unpacks the central role of whiteness and Western ethnicity under the ‘Chinese gaze’, intersected by nationality. However, while they are marked by continuities of white privilege, the resulting racialised positionalities of the foreign white ‘others’ are characterised by a simultaneous elevation and subjugation, equally shaped by a ‘Chinese ascendancy’. European migrants’ self-positionings meander between this ambiguous ‘outsiderness’ and a propensity for integration as they navigate the multifaceted middle positions they occupy. Contextualising the findings in research on white migration movements from the West, the conclusion suggests that the class-based notion of middling migration should be refined by including economic, social and cultural ways of being ‘of the middle’.

Pandemic politics and the rise of immigration: Online attitudes towards Westerners and the west in China

“…Studies have established that while White Westerners in China have at times been constructed by the Chinese gaze as dangerous foreign devils ( yangguizi ); they have also commonly been seen as the embodiment of modernity and enjoyed significant privilege because of their light skin and White Westerner features (Lan, 2021; Leonard, 2019). In recent years, scholars have noted, however, that the privileged status of White people in China is increasingly called into question (Camenisch, 2022; Lan, 2021, 2022; Leonard, 2019). As Lan (2021,p.…”

“…While there is a small body of work that has examined racialization by Asians, it is relatively sparse and exceptional (e.g. Ang, 2022;Fechter, 2005;Paul, 2011). This paper contributes to this small body of work which aims to highlight how racial othering is not the exclusive domain of White people (Fechter, 2005;Paul, 2011).…”

Re-Conceptualizing Insider/Outsider Positionalities in Migration Research as ‘Liquid Positionalities’: An Analytical Tool for Migration Scholars

“…In the context of increasing migrant populations in various host societies, migrant networks, collaborations and interlinkages have increased and expanded on the basis of largely national-origin and ethnic group identifications. Scholars and researchers who belong to these increasingly expanding national-origin and ethnicity-based migrant communities have emerged around the world where the field of migration 7 has now seen many ethnic/national-origin scholars studying their own migrant communities (Camenisch 2022;Crean 2018;Decoo 2022;Keikelame 2018;Mercer 2007;O'Connor 2004).…”

“…For example, a co-national/co-ethnic researcher might not share group identity 8 characteristics with co-national/co-ethnic study participants such as inter alia, political ideologies, religious beliefs, power relations or socio-economic status (Beals et al 2020;Camenisch 2022;Cukut-Krilic 2011;Decoo 2022;Hodkinson 2005;Keikelame 2018;McNess et al 2015;Moroşanu 2015;O'Connor 2004).…”

“…Theoretical and conceptual debates on migrant researchers' insider/outsider positionalities have, therefore, revolved around how the overall research process is shaped, informed and influenced by researchers' subjectivities, perceived group identities and characteristics as understood, perceived, classified and categorized by research participants in interviews or focus group encounters 5 (Ahmed et al 2022;Berger 2015;Camenisch 2022;Crean 2018;Cukut-Krilic 2011;Decoo 2022;Hodkinson 2005;Keikelame 2018;Kusow 2003;McNess et al 2015;Mercer 2007;Nowicka and Cieslik 2014;O'Connor 2004;Palaganas et al 2017;Pechurina 2014;Ryan 2015;Taylor 2011;Wagle and Cantaffa 2008).…”