"Where Do You Come From?"

The term ‘mixed’ has seen a recent acceptance as a category for ethnic identification and has since been implemented in ethnic surveys and the 2001 national census. There has been an increase in awareness of people who identify as neither black nor white and also its academic research, across a range of disciplines. This dissertation aims to examine the foundations of the term ‘mixed race’ as appearing to exist between fixed racial boundaries whilst simultaneously existing to police and maintain them. The research examines the way in which poststructuralism can serve to help in our understanding of the construction of ethnic identity in people who negotiate a multitude of influences. As more and more individuals choose to identify as 'mixed' we must consider the future for our perceptions of 'race' and ethnicity whilst considering the implications of these hybrid identities as grounds for cultural contestation.