Comparing Minorities' Ethnic Options: Do Asian Americans Possess 'More' Ethnic Options than African Americans?

Abstract

What does it mean for ethnic minority groups to possess ‘ethnic options’? Do ethnic minority groups differ in their abilities to choose and assert their ethnic identities, and can some groups be said to possess more ethnic options than others? It has been recently suggested by certain analysts that while Asian Ameri-cans can exercise some ethnic options, African Americans possess few, if any, ethnic options. This article critically assesses this view, and puts forward various reasons why such a view is problematic. In particular, it argues for the need to rethink and broaden the conceptualization of ethnicity and the need to re-examine our under-standings of the images and labels applied to various ethnic minority groups. Although the article draws primarily upon studies of Asian Americans and African Americans, it also refers to the experiences of ethnic minority groups in Britain with whom American minority groups share both commonalities and differences.