"Where Are You From?": Racism and the Normalization of Whiteness in Iceland

Abstract

Within European and Nordic contexts, scholars have disputed how to understand racism and racialization in a context historically different from the American one. While the analysis below underlines the global characteristics and thus mobility of racist discourse, the article seeks to show how racist classifications are understood in different localities. This article explores, in particular, the intersection of race and national identity in Iceland. The primary data consists of interviews with fifteen adults who are identified as mixed, in terms of both race and origin. The analysis shows that Icelandic identity is strongly normalized as a White identity, with the Icelandic body always assumed to be “white.” Thus, by definition, “non-white” bodies must be from somewhere else. However, the interviews also indicate that while constantly having to explain themselves as non-White, these “mixed-race” individuals did not feel rejected as Icelandic nor strongly discriminated against, which contrasts with experiences from other European countries. Finally, the discussion focuses on Iceland’s outward image and the recent branding of Iceland as a destination by the tourism industry, which works toward further racialization of the Icelandic population as a White population.