Butler, Charlotte (2001) Reconstructing ethnicity and identity : the influence of second-generation Turkish-Cypriot and Pakistani women in London. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Scholarly and political interest in the Muslim population in Britain has greatly increased since
the 1970s. Issues such as the Rushdie affair and the Gulf war brought Muslims into the
media spotlight, and provided focal points for the mobilisation of Muslims committed to
maintaining Islamic values in Britain. Most research on Muslims in Britain has focused on
Asian groups. While these may represent the majority, generalisations about Islam and
Muslims in Britain are not possible without examining the experiences of other Muslim
communities. This thesis, therefore, sets out to improve social scientific understanding of the
varied experiences of Muslims in Britain by comparing women from two Muslim groups:
Pakistanis and Turkish Cypriots.
The aim of the thesis is to examine the significance of religion and culture in the lives
of Pakistani and Turkish Cypriot women in London. The principal objectives are to show (a)
how these different and often competing elements are involved in identity formation and
transformation, and (b) how they influence, and are influenced by factors such as race, class
and gender. My research is based on two years of fieldwork with a variety of different
community organisations catering specifically for Muslims, Pakistanis, or Turkish speakers.
In addition I carried out thirty in-depth interviews with women who were actively involved in
these communities. The aim was to examine the major issues relevant to each of these two
groups, as well as to assess the importance of the organisations for Turkish Cypriot and
Pakistani women in London.
My research found firstly, that despite the vast diversity evident among my informants
in terms of their identity and the individual strategies they choose to adopt, their community
organisations had a vital and significant role to play in the development and empowerment of
women across the generations. Secondly, my findings revealed the complex and changing
nature of social identities, as well as the ability of second and third generation Pakistani and
Turkish Cypriot women actively to select and interpret competing cultural systems, and to
adopt, incorporate or abandon specific elements in their search for an appropriate individual
strategy. Young Turkish Cypriots and Pakistani women are shown to be actively defining and
redefining themselves as a result of the multifarious cultural and structural factors that they
experience both on an individual and group level. 'Race', class and gender are crucial to this
process of cultural redefinition, as women's cultural beliefs necessarily reflect the structural
forces that affect their lives. The intersection of 'race', class and gender locates individuals in
their social positions and subsequently elicits considerations of beliefs and identities.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Muslims -- Great Britain, Pakistanis -- Great Britain, Cypriots -- Great Britain, Minority women -- Great Britain
Official Date:	May 2001
Dates:	Date Event May 2001 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Beckford, James A. ; Wrench, John
Extent:	iv, 278 leaves
Language:	eng

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