Growing up as 'other' : what are you?

• Main Author: Annabelle Marie Fernandez
• Other Authors: Genaro Castro-Vazquez
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology::Communities, classes and races
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/69973
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper seeks to explore the strategies employed by Eurasians in Singapore as they grow up under the nebulous category of ‘Others’, causing a constant need to negotiate their identities vis-à-vis stringent, immutable racial categories of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others. Based on in-depth interviews, this paper examines the social impacts and challenges faced by Eurasians and how they defy these racial categories in their lived experiences by situating their identities within a society that is fixated on fixed categories. They are constantly bombarded with questions like “What are you?”, “Are you Singaporean?” as they do not fall within the boundaries of the CMIO, proliferating their exclusion from public policies such as (i) Multiculturalism, (ii) Bilingualism and the (iii) Ethnic Integration Programme. Keywords Eurasians, Others, CMIO, Racial Identity, Singapore