Transnational boundaries of distinction: the social locations and subjectivities of Italian migrants in London

Abstract

ABSTRACT By using notions from race, class, migration and decolonial literature, this article explores the discursive strategies adopted by post-recession Italian migrants in London when trying to overcome the socioeconomic and cultural divides that separate them from the dominant British society, namely transnational boundaries of distinction. In doing so, it reflects on the nature of these boundaries, shedding light on how migrants’ subjectivities become connected to wider cultural and historical processes of coloniality, Europeans’ racialization and the contingent hierarchies of whiteness. The analysis suggests that to increase their proximity to the British majority, Italian migrants disclose strong beliefs in meritocracy and cosmopolitanism, perceived as inner features of Britain’s more “modern” value system. These findings contribute to new thinking about migrants’ social locations in host societies and support the development of theoretical tools, which are apt for making sense of migrants’ subjectivities in relation to nuanced forms of racialization and intersecting inequalities.