Narratives of belonging in transnational contexts

Abstract

Based on 23 narrative interviews with young adults, the following chapter contributes to research on the identity construction of children of mixed origin in transnational space. Linking the concept of mixedness with an intersectional perspective, it analyses biographies of young adults of binational origin looking at the influence of transnational experiences on identity construction. Using two concise case studies from Morocco and Switzerland, this chapter shows that dimensions such as race, class, culture, nationality and age provoke context-specific dynamics. It argues that the identity construction of binational children must be understood as a dynamic process, which may change over time and across space depending on social hierarchies. While their mixedness is devalued in one national context, it becomes a privilege in another. Hence, in the transnational space, children of binational origin experience the multidimensionality of their mixedness, which in turn influences their identity construction.