Mothering across racialized boundaries: introduction to the special issue

Abstract

This introduction to the special issue ‘Mothering across Racialized boundaries’ begins by drawing attention to the symbolic importance of the inclusion of an interracial family in a sequence in the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony. Following this, figures from the 2011 census in England and Wales are discussed in order to highlight increasing ethnic diversity and the growing number of people with mixed or multiple heritage. We consider the increasing social acceptance of interracial relationships as well as enduring stereotypes and critical questions asked of white mothers' parenting across racialized boundaries. We highlight the key themes from the literature relating to mothers in interracial families and introduce the papers featured in this volume.