British Sense Of Identity

Great Essays
3.3. Developments in the British sense of identity
3.3.1
Along with more palpable changes in cityscapes and cultural habits, the British sense of identity has changed in the course of time. While Britain had always been a country of immigrants (citation needed?), it is only recently that those immigrants have been integrated in the idea of a British national identity.
The idea of a national identity initially began to evolve in the period between the First and Second World War, as that was when radio and cinema were both used increasingly, so that people all over the country were able to listen to and watch the same programmes. (Ward 45) The focus of those programmes was on royal and imperial events that were aimed at connecting the everyday life of the British family with the nation. (Ward 45) Further emphasis was also put on the war, especially the war dead, causing the “manly virtues of the officer class” – such as heroism and bravery – to become a central characteristic of Britishness. (Ward 46) During World War II the attachment to the nation was even more reinforced and became obvious in the patriotism shown by British men and women.
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(Ward 49-50) A set of national characteristics as well as a representation of Britishness that embraced parliamentarism, gradualism, liberty and the countryside was established. (Ward 50)
Although the Second World War had made scientific racism indefensible, the population was still divided along racial lines after 1945. (Ward 124) Moreover, there was a racialisation in the concept of British national identity. (Ward 50) In 1947, Sir Ernest Baker came up with the idea of the English gentleman whom he attributed with chivalry and manliness, which was advanced by Geoffrey Gorer who named gentleness, tolerance and abiding the law as central to Englishness. (Ward 51) Those ideals created a unity amongst the British population and in consequence some sense of a cohesive British identity. (Ward 51, 124) This identity was built in opposition to immigrants from the commonwealth, who were usually characterised by ‘domestic barbarism’. (Ward 50) According to a 1960s survey, Britons saw themselves as superior to Asians and Blacks. (Ward 136) Around 1970, an increasing number of scare stories about Asian and Black immigration flooding and invading the country and by doing so threatening the inherently authentic British culture came up. (Ward 125) Responses to newcomers were diverse, but almost invariably stereotyped, and included accusations such as them being criminal, competitors for work, a danger to British women or simply unwilling to integrate. (Ward 120) Britishness was therefore seen as a “finite collective identity” (Ward 125) and seemed not to be accessible for migrants. The British Nationality Act of 1981 contributed to that attitude as it stated that most overseas British citizens did not have the right to enter the United Kingdom and renounced the right of those born in Britain to automatically get the British citizenship. (Ward 131) 3.3.2 After 1990 After 1990, however, this situation seems to have begun to change. (Ward 138) Especially amongst second-generation immigrants, new ethnicity labels like ‘British Muslim’ and ‘Black British’ have emerged and become increasingly appropriate and welcomed, which correlates with the new confidence Blacks and Asians had in demanding their right to be considered British. (Ward 137-138) As several studies suggest, this is due to a remarkable development on both sides. On the one hand, white people in Britain seem to have become increasingly tolerant. In an opinion poll from 1993 three-quarters stated that they would not mind if one of their relatives married an Afro-Caribbean and in
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(7; p. 4) According to an investigation carried out by the Commission for Racial Equality that aimed at examining Britishness and the role it plays in integration (8; p. 5), citizens’ associations with their national identity range over various dimensions. (8; pp. 6-7) It is often seen as represented by things such as geography, meaning typical topographical features and the British Isles in general, national symbols such as the Union Jack and the royal family, cultural habits like ‘queuing’, sports or fish and chips and other national dishes or the English language and its accents. (8; pp. 6-7) Furthermore they are proud of the nation’s achievements: political and historical as well as technological and scientific, sporting, and cultural. (8; p.

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