Intimate interventions: Responses to racist talk in families

Abstract

Racism in Australia has been both present and pervasive since invasion. One potentially important setting where work against racism might occur is within families. Responses to racist talk within families have received little attention within the anti-racism literature. The first aim of this paper is to explore how families negotiate racist talk, taking the view that the rules and practices that guide familial interactions are unique. Intimate relations and the emotional connections therein both create spaces for and constrain race related conversations. Secondly, the paper contrasts responses to racist talk within families to those in public or quasi-public spaces, often occurring amongst strangers. Within families, affective relationships between members are primary, as are the dynamics of family practices. Interviews conducted as the first stage of a larger study show that families are a site for the reproduction of racism, as well as performances of anti-racism. This paper identifies White capacities to maintain family relationships amidst racist talk.