Osanami 811120-7760
Different Attitude towards Different Groups?
Opinions and attitudes towards four immigrant groups in Sweden
International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Malmö University
Sayaka Osanami
1
Osanami 811120-7760
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Post war Sweden has been a country of immigration. More than around one million out of
nine million people living in Sweden presently are born outside the country of Sweden, and a
quarter of the total population have at least one parent who is born abroad (The Economist
2003:7). The former Swedish Minister of Integration, Mona Sahlin stated that a comparison
on immigration can be made between Sweden and the United Sates. In 1913, when
immigration was hitting its peak, foreign born population in the US was about fourteen
percent. In 2003, around twelve percent of the total Swedish population was foreign born.
This percentage is higher than in the present US and in any other European countries. For a
comparison with the neighbor countries, seven percent of the population in Norway and six
percent of that in Denmark is foreign born (ibid. p.8).
Sweden has established its own model of immigration policy, which is to apply tight
regulations on the initial entrance to the country but granting the immigrants with permanent
residency once accepted (Hammar 1993:106). Until the early 1970s, most of the immigrants
were labor immigrants from within Europe. Labor immigrants came mostly from the Nordic
countries, and the rest from Germany, Austria, Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece (Lundh and
Ohlsson 1997:87). In 1968, Sweden started to apply tighter rules on labor immigration from
non-Nordic countries (Bevelander 1999:450). Since 1972, Sweden has stopped accepting
labor immigrants, but instead has started to accept a large number of refugees and also has
been allowing the family members of the earlier immigrants to immigrate (Hammer
1993:106). Between 1980 and 2005, about 304,000 people were granted residence permit as
refugees (Migrationsverket A). In 2005, some 62,463 people in total have received permit to
stay in Sweden. 8076 of them received permits as refugees or on humanitarian reasons, and
1263 persons with refugee quotas. 21,908 people were given permission to stay on the ground
of family ties, 6837 persons as students, 805 persons as adopted children and the rest of the
permits were given under the EU/EEA agreement (Migrationsverket B).
Racism and discrimination exists in Sweden, a country which is believed to be “as an
international champion of social justice, as the very model of solidarity and equality, as the
2
Osanami 811120-7760
world’s capital of good intentions and civilized behavior towards others” (Pred 2000:6).
According to the study by Integration Board, one out of six people have witnessed
discriminations against people with foreign backgrounds in public places in 2004
(Integrationsverket 12). In European countries with a large number of immigrants, the word
“immigrants” has currently become a “signifier for all those of Muslim background” which
can also be applied in Sweden (Pred 2000:4).
This study is carried out in Malmö, which is located in the south of Sweden and is
half an hour train ride away from Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the third biggest city in Sweden
followed by Stockholm and Gothenburg. As mentioned before, there are immigrants from all
over the world present in Sweden. In Malmö, the ten largest foreign born groups of people are
from Yugoslavia, Poland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Denmark, Lebanon, Iran, Hungary,
Finland and Germany, in the presented order (Malmöstad A 3). The population of Malmö in
January 2003 is about 265,000 and among them, more than 62,000 people or 24 percent of the
population are foreign born (Malmöstad A 2-3). The city of Malmö states that “[c]ultural
diversity is becoming one of our strong defining characteristics and represents a crucial
component of our capacity for future development” (Malmöstad B 2). Malmö has been facing
the problem of integration and alienation in various social aspects such as employment,
education or housing. There has been different projects introduced to improve the situation,
and one of the most current project carried out by the city of Malmö is called Welfare for All
(Välfärd för Alla).
As I have studied Sociology, especially Sociology of Race and Ethnicity in Japan and
in the United States, I am accustomed to the racial and ethnic categories presented before me.
The biggest surprise when I started studying in Sweden was this point that the studies made in
the field are often about “immigrants” in comparison to native Swedes. As I have mentioned
before that the word “immigrants” in Europe, including in Sweden, is often a signifier of
Muslims. There exists so many different immigrant groups with different race and ethnicity in
Sweden, and they are seldom represented in the word “immigrants.” I think that “lumping all
these different individuals together under one label fails to capture considerable differences
(Kalm 2003:81)” not only among the immigrants but also among the attitudes of Swedish
people towards the immigrants. I believe that looking at the present Swedish society through
racial and ethnic differences is important.
3
Osanami 811120-7760
1.2 Aim and research questions
The aim of this thesis is to see if the majority, who are ethnic Swedes, have different attitudes
towards different immigrant groups, and if so why?
In order to achieve the aim of the thesis, the following questions are being asked.
1.
Do respondents have different attitudes and opinion towards different immigrant groups?
2.
If the respondents have different attitudes and opinions towards different immigrant
groups, why and where do they come from?
These questions will be answered by an opinion survey and interviews. Both the survey and
interviews are carried out with cooperation with one of the bank offices in Malmö.
4
Osanami 811120-7760
1.3 Definitions
Definitions of who the ethnic Swedes and immigrants are differ in different studies. Below is
my definition of what the terms mean in this thesis.

Ethnic Swedes are those who have at least one parent who is born and raised in Sweden.

Immigrants are those who have immigrated to Sweden on various reasons such as family
ties, labor immigration or seeking asylum. In this thesis, the term also includes those with
immigrant background, who are the native born population with two parents who have
immigrant backgrounds. They can also be mentioned as ethnic minorities although one
must be careful in distinguishing ethnic minorities from the national minorities (Sami,
Sweden Finns, Tornedalers, Roma, Jews), who are protected by the state.
I recognize that there are a large number of adopted children from Asian and African countries
present in Sweden, who can be treated in the same way as immigrants at an initial encounter.
However through the testing of surveys and having some conversation with ethnic Swedes, I
have come up with the conclusion that the adopted children are not treated the same in society
as the immigrants in the end, since the adopted children are perceived to be “culturally”
Swedish. Therefore, I do not consider the adopted population to be included in the category of
immigrants. This gives complexity to my study since the whole thesis deals with the concept
of race and excluding the adopted children is a contradiction to the concept. I have found the
position of adopted children difficult in conducting a study in Sweden based on racial
categories.
5
Osanami 811120-7760
2. Theoretical Concepts
2.1 Labeling theory
Howard S. Becker is a sociologist who studied deviance. In his interactionist perspective, he
considered that deviance is created by society. Becker states:
…social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes
deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labeling them as
outsiders. From this point of view, deviance is not a quality of the act the person
commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions
to an “offender.” (Becker 2003:70)
Becker writes that the people who are labeled are not homogeneous, since the process of
labeling may not be always correct (ibid. p.71). This means that a same label can be applied to
those who are deviant in different degrees and also those who actually have not committed
any deviant act. Some people can be even labeled deviant without breaking any rules in
society. Becker says that “one cannot reasonably expect to find common factors of personality
or life situation that will account for the supposed deviance” and what the people who are
labeled deviant have in common is the label itself and “the experience of being labeled as
outsiders” (ibid. p.71).
Being labeled has significant consequences for one’s social interaction and public
identity, because “[p]osession of one deviant trait may have a generalized symbolic value, so
that people automatically assume that its bearer possess other undesirable traits allegedly
associated with it” (ibid. p.73). Becker discusses Everett C. Hughes’ analysis of “master and
subordinate statuses”. In society, certain statuses have some priorities than other statuses.
Becker says that race is one of those statuses which are prioritized in society. He writes an
example of a Black person that being a physician, middle-class or female will not defend the
person from being treated as a Black, and says that this is the kind of master status which the
status of deviant have. Becker states;
One receives the status as a result of breaking a rule, and the identification proves to
be more important than most others. One will be identified as a deviant first, before
other identifications are made. (ibid. p.73)
6
Osanami 811120-7760
2.2 Otherness
Miles explain his view of us and other in Racism after ‘Race Relation’ as “simultaneously
inclusive and exclusive” (Miles 1993:58). In a process of differentiating people by certain
features, some who possess that certain features are included as us while the ones who do not
possess that features are excluded as others. Miles states more explicitly that when us is
defined as white, an other is defined as those who lack the quality of whiteness, and “beyond
the boundary of ‘whiteness’ there exist Others who share the quality of being ‘non-white’”
(ibid. p.58).
Otherness is usually constructed through “the comparison, the constrast, the relation
between ‘us’ and ‘them’” (Hedetoft 1995:77). Hedetoft writes in Signs of Nations;
…the image of the Other is invariably predicated on the Self-image, they mutually
define each other in an imaginary demarcation of difference within a normative and
evaluative continuum, even when both sides of the nexus are not directly and
explicitly thematised (ibid. p.77)
The above relationist’s view provides “different argumentative figures as well as different
forms and degrees of marking and explicitness” which relates to the different ideas of us and
others.
The three most important principal forms of representation of us and them is the
exclusivist (absolute, hostile), the gradualist (relative, friendly) and the exotic (attractive,
identificatory). The exclusivists view includes “all sorts of enemy images, whether they relate
to situations of war, system competition…hostility towards immigrants, or whatever” (ibid.
p.103). The others are perceived as “absolutely different from ‘us’, as menaces, arch enemies,
units culturally and morally incompatible with ‘ourselves’” and here stereotypes, which will
be discussed later starts to get involved. The gradualist recognize others “in relations of
proximity or contiguity vis-à-vis ‘us’ – as, in some way, ‘like us’ or even ‘part of us’” (ibid.
p.104). Contrary to the one-sided exclusivists, the gradualist achieves to give “recognition and
praise for the qualities of competing nation-state” on the ground that they are “like us” (ibid.
p.104). The third representation, which is the exotic, constructs otherness in “fantasies,
dreams” and with symbols of “positive, romanticised, sentimental qualities” (ibid. p.104).
Others are perceived as “unknown” however not as an enemy but as “a kind of alter ego on a
7
Osanami 811120-7760
level of experience and sentiment separated from the harsh realities of life” (ibid. p.104).
While the two previous representation of otherness is placed on “the necessity”, the exotic
representation is always related to “freedom”. In the exotic point of view, otherness is
included into us, and there exist a “utopian dream of unity – identification – between Us and
the Other” (ibid. p.105).
2.3 Race
Concept of race is not commonly used in Sweden however it is one of the important concepts
in studying relationships between the majority and minority in the US. According to the
Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies, the word race first appeared in the English
language at the beginning of sixteenth century, and the word was used to refer to common
features present because of shared decent. This usage of the word was persistent until the
early nineteenth century. Race was considered to be something that is permanent and also
something that assign humans with both physical and mental capacities (Cashmore 2004:333).
The change in the way how the word race is used reflects the changes in the understanding of
the causes of physical and cultural difference. Later Darwin proved that no forms in nature
were permanent, and the cause of the physical differences is genes. The further subsequent
research after Darwin suggested that “classification based upon phenotipical variations are of
very limited value” (ibid. p.334). There had been scholars suggesting that the word race
should be replaced by the word ethnic groups however, the word race is still in use widely
(ibid. pp.333-334).
The suggestion to replace the word race with ethnicity comes from a confusion of the
two different terms. The word ethnicity first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in
1972, however the word ethnic itself has its origin in a Greek word ethnos meaning “heathen
or pagan” (Eriksen 1993:3). In the middle of 19th century, the word has gradually begun to be
applied to some racial characteristics (ibid. p.4). According to the Encyclopedia of Race and
Ethnic Studies, ethnic group is “a group possessing some degree of coherence and solidarity
composed of people…aware of having a common origins and interests” and it is also a group
of people who are self-consciously united, or closely related by common experiences
(Cashmore 2004:142). Both race and ethnicity are socially constructed categories without any
8
Osanami 811120-7760
biological reality. The important difference between the two concepts is that race is an
“attribution of one group”, and ethnic group is “the creative response of a people who feel
somehow marginal to the mainstream society” (ibid. p.143). Eriksen discusses Michel
Banton’s idea on race and ethnicity and states that race is a categorization of people, while
ethnicity is group identification (Eriksen 1993:5). Banton’s view is that ethnicity is “the
identification of ‘us’” while race is “more oriented to the categorization of ‘them’” (ibid. p.5).
The word race is used in four different ways today. The first is in biology where the
race means subspecies or breed. Physical anthropologist used to talk about human races in the
biological sense of subspecies and the most common division was “Negroid, Mongoloid and
Caucasoid” (Cashmore 2004:336). The second way the term race is used is as a synonym for
species as “the human race”. The third is a synonym for what we normally call a nation or
ethnic group, a usage such as “Swedish race” or “Japanese race.” This third usage of race was
widespread in the nineteenth and early twenties century. The fourth and the most important
usage of race in this thesis is race as a “group of people who are socially defined in a given
society as belonging together because of physical markers such as skin pigmentation, hair
texture, facial features, stature, and the like” (ibid. p.336). Some scholars specify this race as
“social race.” Social scientists today dominantly use this concept of race, that it is a “social
group defined by somatic visibility” (ibid. p.336). The commonality between the “social race”
and the usage of race in physical anthropology is only a coincidence. It is important to know
that in social science, the concept of race shares “somewhat similar social positions” though
genetically unbound (ibid. p.336).
In sum, the concept of race should be understood in this thesis as “an unstable and
‘decentered’ complex of social meanings constantly being transformed by political struggle”
and race is a concept which “signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by
referring to different types of human bodies” (Omi and Winant 1994:55). Race has “no real
biological foundation” and is “imagined as communities in the sense that the population is
thought to be bound together by a common feeling of fellowship” (Miles 1993:57). As an
indicator of the “feeling of fellowship” the phenotypical characteristics such as skin color
exists. Since race is not biological but socially constructed, the categories are not fixed or
determined from the beginning. “[R]ace has no fixed meaning, but is constructed and
transformed sociohistorically” (Omi and Winant 1994:71). Racial categories can change
according to time and place.
9
Osanami 811120-7760
2.4a Racism
Racism is a fairly new concept. Ruth Benedict defined the word in 1940 as “the dogma that
one ethnic group is condemned by nature to congenital inferiority and anther group is destined
to congenital superiority” (Cashmore 2004:349). In1967, two civil right movement leaders
Carmichael and Hamilton described that racism is “the prediction of decisions and policies on
considerations of race for the purpose of subordinating a racial group and maintaining control
over that group” (ibid. p.349). During 1960s, sociologists found out that there were new
tendencies of unequal treatment on political and cultural basis, rather than biological.
Increasing forms of ideology, behavior and attitudes started to be associated as racist even
when they had no mention of “race”. Trying to prevent the further inflation of the concept of
racism, Robert Miles defined the feature of racism as an ideology as the following:
…the attribution of social significance(meaning) to particular patterns of
phenotypical and/or genetic difference which, along with the characteristic of
additional deterministic ascription of real or supposed other characteristics to a group
constituted by descent. (ibid. p.350)
In racism, the characteristics of a group are negatively evaluated and pointed out as a reason
that justifies the unequal treatment (ibid. p.350).
It is important to note the difference between racism and racial discrimination.
Racial discrimination is “the active or behavioral expressions of racism” (ibid. p.345) and it is
operated on group’s characteristics, not on the individuals’, as racism is. Racially
discriminated group of people are judged exclusively on their association to the particular
group (ibid. p.345). Racial discrimination and racism works together in a “self fulfilling way”
since “by denying designated groups access to resources and services, one creates conditions
under which those groups can often do no more than confirm the very stereotypes that
inspired the original racist belief” (ibid. p.345).
There are many studies focusing on different racisms, but here I introduce two kinds
of racisms that I think are relevant to this study. One is new racism, which was discussed first
by Barker in 1981. Barker described the situation in Great Britain in the 1970s using the term.
New racism has changed the race rhetoric of racism to rhetoric of culture (Hervik 2004:151).
Culture according to Norwegian Social Anthropologist Unni Wikan, refers to “norms and
10
Osanami 811120-7760
values that are contested and contestable” (Wikan 2002:86). Wikan discusses that the concept
of culture hides the complexity of human beings and distinctive individuals (ibid. p.88). One
of the problematic aspects of culture Wikan states is that culture is used to exaggerate
differences and to distance the people of “different cultures” and the people of the “same
culture”. In conventional term, racism is justified by negatively evaluating the real or
supposed characteristics of groups with a certain phenotypical differences. The new racism on
the other hand justifies racist acts “by means of exclusive cultural difference” (Hervik
2004:151). Wikan states;
What is racism? It is to treat people condescendingly because of ethnic or biological
attributes. “Culture” functions in a racist manner if it is a model of human we apply
only to “them” but not to ourselves and if this model implies a derogatory view of
the Other. (Wikan 2002:81)
New racism consider racial minority as inferior because they are “different” from us.
Common belief underlying the new racism is that “they” have a different culture which is in
most cases interpreted as “deficiencies” of normality that “we” have (van Dijk 2000:34).
The second racism I consider relevant is everyday racism. According to Philomena
Essed, everyday racism is a process where
…(a) socialized racist notions are integrated into meanings that make practices
immediately definable and manageable, (b) practices with racist implications become
in themselves familiar and repetitive, and (c) underlying racial and ethnic relations
are actualized and reinforced through these routine or familiar practices in everyday
situation. (Essed 1991:52)
Everyday racism is an invisible oppression where “[r]ejection, exclusion, problematization,
underestimation, and other inequities and impediments are regularly infused into “normal” life,
so that they appear unquestionable” (ibid. p.146).
11
Osanami 811120-7760
2.4b Xenophobia
In Sweden I have realized that people are not willing to recognize the mistreating of the racial
or ethnic minorities as racism. Below is Irene Molina’s text from Stadens rasifiering: Ethisk
boendesegregation i folkhemmet quoted in Even in Sweden.
Not being willing to employ a person with foreign background or denying a
[non-European] immigrant family admission to a cooperative housing development
can be defended with arguments such as “one is afraid of the unknown,” “one can’t
take any risks,” “it’s human to be afraid of the unfamiliar.”…What is relevant…is not
to establish whether or not such [discriminatory] actions make specific individuals
racists. What is pivotal however, is the question of how a value system with diverse
racial [pre]conceptions has penetrated the subconsciouness of individuals and
institutions to such an extent that actions resulting in race-based discrimination may
occur daily in racist ideology permeate its various spheres. It would appear that many
people in Sweden fear to see themselves, or to be seen by others, as racists. (Pred
2000: 82)
In the same book, a quote from a teenage girl, who belongs to a gang that had verbally and
physically attacked Bosnian refugees, is presented. She says “They’ve called us racists, but
we’re not. I’ve looked up the word. Perhaps we’re hostile toward foreigners” (ibid. p.82). Pred
himself also expresses,
What is here termed cultural racism must be labeled as something else. Must be
called “hostility toward foreigners,” “hostility toward immigrants,”
“xenophobia,”…Must be cleansed of any association with “real” or “classical”
racism…Must be renamed so as to prove less threatening to images of self and nation,
so as to avoid excessive destabilization of widely held elements of national identity.
For the very thought – not to mention evidence – of any variety of racism in their
own midst frequently proves contradictory and extremely difficult to accept for the
majority of Swedes” (ibid. p.83).
As Pred mentions, “hostility toward immigrants” in other word, is Xenophobia. The
term Xenophobia means “fear of strangers” and the word was used to describe people “who
feared or abhorred groups regarded as “outsiders”” (Cashmore 2004:455). The current usage
of the word is to illustrate “the context of attacks on immigrants and asylum seekers in
Western Europe” (ibid. p.455). Since the word racism has a strong association with the Nazi
during the World WarⅡespecially in Germany, the term xenophobia is used more and more in
the internationally agreed documents. The difference between racism and xenophobia can be
12
Osanami 811120-7760
described as the following: “racism can be seen as relying on ideas of inferiority, whereas
xenophobia relies on ideas of fundamental differences between cultures” (ibid. p.455).
However this distinction is not definite either since for example new racism which was
discussed earlier deals with the idea of differences between cultures as well.
Xenophobia is very similar to everyday racism and cultural racism, which is
discussed earlier. A clear example is Irene Molina’s text quoted in the previous page. It
corresponds to what Essed explains as everyday racism. Those who are “hostile toward
foreigners” do not recognize that the hostility comes from negatively evaluating the fact that
one is different or “looks different” and that one have physical markers that defines the person
or the group. Even though ethnic Swedes may not want to admit or speak openly about it,
since xenophobia comes from the recognition of differences, it is important to notice that
xenophobia actually is a part of racism.
The relationships between racism or xenophobia and how large the immigrant groups
are perceived to be by the majority is not discussed in any of the sources that I have referred
to, however can be an interesting point to look at. What I mean by the how large the
immigrant groups are, is what the majority believes, and not what the actual number is. I
believe that not only labels, stereotypes, and stigma help people create xenophobic feelings,
but also how large the groups are perceived to be affects people in creating a feeling of fear
for strangers.
2.5 Stereotypes
Stereotype refers to “a fixed mental impression” and Gordon Allport defined it as “an
exaggerated belief associated with a category”. In race and ethnic studies the concept of
stereotype is defined as “an overgeneralization about the behavior or other characteristics of
members of particular groups (Cashmore 2004:414), and in social anthropology it is “creation
and consistent application of standarised notion of the cultural distinctiveness of a group”
(Eriksen 1993:23). Stereotypes can be both negative and positive, and they are often
connected with racism and discrimination.
Hedetoft discusses in Signs of Nations, the strong connection between stereotypes
and Otherness. He states that stereotypes are cultural notions defined by nature, function, and
13
Osanami 811120-7760
signs, and they prevail and dependent on a particular social contexts (Hedetoft 1995:93).
Stereotypes,
…in their capacity as signs, images of the Other define, represent, condense, and
organise meaning, bring forms and substances together, ascribe and transfer value, in
the process imposing mental and cultural lines of demarcation on reality (ibid. p.93).
Hedetoft presents some significant aspects of foreign stereotypes. First of all, the
stereotypes are “exclusive” figures which are “rooted in lack of recognition of the signified
persons, groups, and/or nation-states” (ibid. p.98). Here the stereotype comes from an
“abstract suspiciousness towards the other” (ibid. p.98). Second aspect of stereotypes is that
even though stereotypes are a relational sign where the dichotomy of us and them is present
and the initial image of the others are always “‘us’ and ‘our’ interest,” stsreotypes ignore this
relational aspect. “The lines of demarcation…between ‘us’ and ‘them’ present themselves as
differences of kind, and the valorisation imputed to ‘them’ as immanent to the object rather
than as a reflection of relations” according to Hedetoft (ibid. p.99). Further he explains that
the majority defines what the stereotypes should be with the thoughts that we are the basis of
assessment and how close they are to our values. In stereotypes, there exists more dichotomies
than simply just us and them and this is the third aspect of stereotypes. The dichotomies are
“fictinality – reality”, “abstract – concrete” and “innter – outer” (ibid. p.99).
Eriksen states the five following ways how stereotypes are used in society. First,
stereotypes enable society to divide people into “kinds” and they give the criteria for
classification. Second, stereotypes help justify privileges and differences in access to the
resources in society. Third, stereotypes are important in defining the boundaries of us and
other. Foruth, stereotypes can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies, which is referred to a
phenomenon where “false beliefs are converted to practical realities” (Cashmore 2004:390).
Lastly, stereotypes can be “morally ambiguous and contested by different parties” (Eriksen
1993:24).
14
Osanami 811120-7760
2.6 Stigma
The word stigma derives from the Greeks, which was referred to “bodily signs designed to
expose something unusual and bad about the moral status of the signifier” (Goffman 1990:11).
In present society, the word is applied in the humiliation of having a stigma than the bodily
proof itself, according to Erving Goffman.
Goffman argues that society creates a way of categorizing people based on what is
perceived to be “ordinary and natural” for the member of the categories. He says that people
do not realize which categories they belong to until a question of if one is “ordinary and
natural” for the category arises:
While a stranger is present before us, evidence can arise of his possessing an attribute
that makes him different from others in the category of persons available for him to
be, and of a less desirable kind (ibid. p.12).
Goffman writes that a person who possesses different attributes and is considered to be
undesirable is “reduced in our minds…to a tainted, discounted one” and such attributes, he
says, are stigma (ibid. p.12). He says that the term stigma refers to “an attribute that is deeply
discrediting” however the focus should be on “a language of relationships, not attributes”
(ibid. p.13).
Goffman discusses three different types of stigma. First is the “abominations of the
body” which referrers to different kinds of physical deformities. Second, is the “blemishes of
individual character.” This is a stigma towards someone who is thought to have “weak will,
domineering or unnatural passions, treacherous and rigid beliefs, and dishonesty, mental
disorder, imprisonment, addiction, alcoholism, radical political behaviour” (ibid. p.14). The
last type Goffman introduces is the “tribal stigma”, which comes with race, religion, and
nation. The tribal stigma is a stigma that can be passed on and “contaminate” within a family
(ibid. p.14). The stigmatised population are deprived of their chances in their life by the
“normal” population through various discriminations towards them. The “normal” population
creates a “stigma theory” which is an ideology to “explain his inferiority and account for the
danger he represents, sometimes rationalizing an animosity based on other differences” (ibid.
p.15).
15
Osanami 811120-7760
Visibility, more accurately perceptibility or evidentness, is a crucial factor of stigma.
Goffman takes an example of ex-mental patients being able to pass as normal since the
“failing is not readily visible” while a blind person can easily be detected as not normal
because of the visibility of being a blind (ibid. p.64-68). Race can be considered then, as one
of one of the visible stigma. “Passing” is an important concept in relation to race as a visible
stigma. An American sociologist Mary C. Waters discusses that white population enjoy
ethnicity as a choice while the ethnic minority do not have ethnicity as a choice because one
will always be identified with one’s ethnicity based on how you look. She explains further that
if a person who is half English and half German identify oneself as German, that person is not
in danger of being accused of trying to “pass” as German. However what would happen if one
is half German and half African and identify oneself as German? Then, because of the social
norms one will probably not be accepted as German if one “looked black.” According to
Waters, this choice and constraint of ethnic identification is most obvious when you are
racially mixed but even the ones whose ancestry is supposed to be single have a series of
choices. Waters states “individuals who believe their ancestry to be solidly the same in both
parents’ backgrounds can (and often do) choose to suppress that ancestry and self-identify as
‘American’ or try to pass as having an ancestry they would like to have” (Waters
2001:71).This ethnic option is available to all white Americans and some of them have further
choice of which ethnicity one would like to identify with, according to Waters (70-71). When
immigration from southern and central Europe was reaching its peak in the United States,
Italians, Poles, Greeks and Jews were discriminated against by the established Americans. The
discriminated eventually achieved success after some generations in the country with the
power of “white” ethnicity as a choice (Waters 1996:445).
Race which “signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to
different types of human bodies” (Omi and Winant 1994:55) is a “tribal stigma”, which is
passed on within a family and over generations. Because of the visibility, race takes a master
position in labeling a group or a person. Labels are created by the acknowledgment of
otherness and stereotypes work together with labels in establishing a concrete idea of others.
Stereotypes and the idea of otherness also work as stigma of the person or a group. All these
concepts work together in racism and xenophobia.
16
Osanami 811120-7760
2.7 Media
Media plays a part in creating stereotypes, labels, and stigma. In Ethnic Minorities and the
Media: Changing Cultural Boundaries, Simon Cottle writes that media dominates a key and
plays an important role in the public representation of “unequal social relations and the play of
cultural power”. According to Cottle, people construct a sense of us and other through media
(Cottle 2000:2). In the same volume, Teun A. van Dijk talks about the role of media in new
racism. He writes that new racism is something that is expressed. It seems as a sheer talk
which in fact works effectively to exclude racial minorities. Van Dijk continues and states that
“discursive” new racism has a potential of great harm when it becomes everyday racism,
which is when the discourse and representation becomes normal and natural (Van Dijk
2000:34). He writes “discourse as a social practice of racism is at the same time the main
source for people’s racist beliefs” and says that people learn racism mainly through text or talk.
Media discourse according to van Dijk is the major basis of knowledge, attitudes and
ideologies not only elites but also ordinal people share (ibid. p.36). Discussions by Cottle and
van Dijk are useful in understanding and analyzing where different opinions people have
comes from, how they are constructed and are reinforced in society.
2.8 How the theoretical concepts are applied
This thesis aims to see if ethnic Swedes have different opinion towards different immigrant
groups. The concept of race is applied in order to construct different groups among
immigrants in Sweden. Other theoretical concepts discussed above are useful in analyzing and
understanding why people have different opinions and attitudes and where they come from.
17
Osanami 811120-7760
3. Method
3.1 Constructing Racial Groups
This thesis investigates if ethnic Swedes have different opinions towards different immigrant
groups. Therefore I start the research by dividing the immigrants in Sweden in four different
groups based on the immigrants’ country of origins listed on the statistics of residence permit
given in 2005 from the Migration board (Migrationsverket C). The four groups are Latin
American, Middle Eastern, South East Asian and African. I base the grouping on the concept
of race or social race which is a “group of people who are socially defined in a given society
as belonging together because of physical markers such as skin pigmentation, hair texture,
facial features, stature, and the like” (Cashmore 2004:336) as discussed in the theoretical
concepts. I understand the limitation that it is not possible to include all immigrants’
nationality in the following categories. The categories are solely constructed by I myself for
this research, and they are subjected to changes since race is a socially constructed idea that
can change over time and place.

Latin American: Those who have their roots in Latin American countries such as Chile,
Peru and Colombia.

Middle Eastern: Those who have their roots in Middle Eastern countries such as Iran, Iraq,
or Syria. (Doesn’t include Israel)

South East Asian: Those who have their roots in South East Asian countries such as China,
Thailand, or Vietnam.

African: Those who have their roots in African countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia or
Nigeria.
It is worth mentioning that Allan Pred brings up the four groups, exactly with the same terms,
as “more or less steadily increased, becoming responsible for more than half of all those
entering the country by the mid eighties” in his book, Even in Sweden (Pred 2000:35).
As I have stated before the groups are constructed with the concept of race, which
“signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of
human bodies”(Omi and Winant 1994:55). I have chosen to use the term Middle Eastern
instead of Arabs, since the term Arabs is referred to as a “large ethnic group widespread in the
18
Osanami 811120-7760
Middle East and North Africa” and also thoes who speak the Arabic language (Wikipedia).
This will include the Afro-Arabic population, who, based on the concept of race should be
considered as African. I mention that people from Israel are not included in the category
Middle Eastern, since the country has a strong connection with Jews. Jews are not included in
my study since they are recognized as one of the national minority groups in Sweden. I
narrow down Asian as South East Asian, since the term Asian covers too large variation of
phenotypical characteristics. Again, the four categories are based on the concept of race,
which is a “social group defined by somatic visibility” (Cashmore 2004:336). With the testing
of the survey, it was proved that the respondents think about the four groups in the “asked”
way. However I am aware of the chances that the respondents of the survey may have
different visual pictures of the four groups. Moreover, the survey is constructed in a way that
respondents would not include the adopted children in the four groups, yet I understand that
there is a possibility of people including them when answering.
Even though people from European countries are the biggest group of immigrants in
Sweden, I choose not to include the group in this study because of the reason that they have
similar somatic visibility with Swedes that gives them the ability of “passing” and become the
part of the majority, as it is discussed in 2.6. How one looks or appears matters when
individuals construct attitudes. Third generation Japanese American professor of Ethnic
Studies, Ronald Takaki, wrote an experience that took place when he was on a taxi on the way
to a conference in a book A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America.
The rearview mirror reflected a white man in his forties. “How long have you been in
this country?” he asked. “All my life,” I replied, wincing. “I was born in the United
States.” … “I was wondering because your English is excellent!” Then, as I had
many times before, I explained: “My grandfather came here from Japan in the 1880s.
My family has been here, in America, for over a hundred years.” He glanced at me in
the mirror. Somehow I did not look “American” to him; my eyes and complexion
looked foreign. (Takaki 2001:51)
Allan Pred states the Swedish case that refugees coming from Turkey, Vietnam, Iran, Iraq,
Lebanon, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somali are not “melting” into the Swedish society as the
refugees from Hungary and Czech Republic. He states that it is owed “foremost to their
degree of perceived otherness, owing foremost to their mannerisms, transported practices and
immediately apparent physical differences” (Pred 2000:43). As the white American population
of European descent discussed in 2.6, I believe that immigrants of European descent in
19
Osanami 811120-7760
Sweden have possibilities to, if not now in the future generations, “pass” as Nordic or
Swedish and have their ethnicity as an option because of their less distinguishable features.
Therefore, I do not include European immigrants in my study.
I understand some may argue that constructing categories of immigrants may lead to
imposing stereotypes and creating further distinction between the majority and the minority.
However as I have discussed earlier, appearance does matter since it is the first thing people
notice. Registering race and ethnicity is a routine part of population census in the US, Canada
and Great Britain. Karin Norman, a Swedish social anthropologist writes,
as Banton notes, ‘social differences are often taken for granted when they seem to
have a physical basis’ (1988:8) and people will nonetheless tend to classify
immigrants, refugees, and foreigners into different cultural categories according to
cultural perceptions of phenotypical variation or physical appearance, such as
‘Arab-looking, black, Indian, Korean’ (Norman 2004:210).
Therefore I do not consider making racial categories as a negative thing but rather I see it
important in understanding the differences among the immigrants and also the differences in
how ethnic Swedes perceive different groups of immigrants. Furthermore, I would like to
emphasize that categorizing or typing is different from stereotyping. Richard Dyer’s argument
is presented in Stuart Hall’s discussion of stereotyping. Dyer says, according to Hall, that it
will be hard to make sense of the world without the use of types. In typing “[w]e assign
him/her to the membership of different groups, according to class, gender, age group,
nationality, ‘race’, linguistic group, sexual preference and so on” (Hall 1997:257). In short,
type is “any simple, vivid, memorable, easily grasped and widely recognized characterization
in which a few traits are foregrounded and change or ‘development’ is kept to a minimum”
while stereotyping is, as discussed in the theoretical concepts, to reduce people “to a few
simple, essential characteristics, which are represented as fixed by Nature” (ibid. p.257).
It is worth mentioning here that there is a movement towards recognizing racial and
ethnic categories in Sweden. Integration Minister, Jens Orback told in Dagens Nyheter that
the Swedish government has started investigating if Sweden should register ethnic categories
of the population. He says that statistics dividing men and women has benefited in helping to
solve the discrimination of sex, which can be inferred that he has the same opinion about
statistics based on ethnicity (Stenberg 2005).
20
Osanami 811120-7760
3.2 Survey
Opinion surveys and interviews are conducted in this research. The survey provides a broad
picture of if people have different attitudes towards different immigrant groups or not, and the
interviews helps to examine the reason why people do or do not have different attitudes. This
study is made with cooperation with one of the bank offices in Malmö. The limitation of this
study is that the research is conducted only in one office which makes it not possible to draw a
general conclusion. The survey was distributed only to the white-collar workers in the office
and therefore it can be assumed that the survey respondents are well educated to a certain
degree. Prior study has shown that the persons with high educational level have more open
attitudes towards other ethnic groups and immigration (Nordin 2001:119). The fact that the
survey respondents are educated is a positive aspect of this study, since it reveals what those
who are thought to be less racist and prejudiced think.
Another limitation through out this research is the fact that I am a South East Asian
immigrant, which can affect the research result. According to Racial Attitudes in America:
There is substantial evidence that responses to many racial items are influenced by
whether interviews and respondents are of the same or different races. In the case of
white respondents, in one controlled study the responses to a question on
intermarriage varied by 46 percent depending upon whether the interviewers were
white or black (Hatchett and Schuman 1975-76). (Schuman, Steeh, and Bobo 1985:5)
The survey was first made in English and then was translated into Swedish by a
Swedish native speaker. The problem here is that even though the translator tries his best to
make the survey questions as similar as possible to the original, there can be differences in
connotation caused by different meanings the language entails. Another limitation is the fact
that I have only limited control over the translation, since Swedish is still an unfamiliar
language for me. The survey was formed with references with two sources, Racial Attitudes in
America and Svenska om Sverige och svenskheten, which deal with racial or ethnic opinion
surveys.
The survey begins with four background questions. The rest consists of eleven
statements, to which the respondents are given five answer alternatives. The respondents
answered to which degree they agree with the statements, including the answer choice “don’t
know”. Each statement is directed to each immigrant group, therefore the respondents were
21
Osanami 811120-7760
not asked to directly compare the different immigrant groups when answering. I am aware that
people’s attitude towards different immigrant groups is not shown directly on the answers
expressed on the survey but rather underlies on them. Attitudes can be understood as
“consisting of positive or negative responses toward some object, whether that object be
another individual, a group, a policy, or whatever” (ibid. p.43). Through the degree of consent
to the statements the respondents give on the survey questions, I draw a picture of underlying
attitudes.
The survey was both distributed and answered anonymously, which means that no
names were given by the survey creator or survey respondents. The survey was distributed
anonymously to make the fact that I am a South East Asian not affect the result of the survey.
The respondents only received the information that the survey was constructed by a student in
Malmö University and conducting the survey is part of the work for this thesis. The survey
was brought to the person in charge of the office on December 12th, 2005 and collected from
the same person on December 21st 2005.
70 copies of the survey were handed to the person in charge, and he distributed the
survey to the employees at the office. A total of 36 persons answered the survey and out of
those, 16 were women and 20 were men. It can be doubted that the survey result have been
affected by the fact that some did not answer the survey, if those who did not answer consisted
of a specific homogenous group of people. One possible reason for people to not answer the
survey is that they have strong racist opinions and did not want to reveal the opinions on a
survey handed out in the office they work in. To prevent respondents from not answering the
survey on the ground of the fear of expressing their opinions, the survey was answered
anonymously and moreover the respondents were given envelops with the survey so that they
could seal the survey when turning it in to the person in charge. I have received no impression
during my research that those who did not answer the survey were a homogeneous group. I
assume that the most likely reason for not answering the survey is that some people simply
did not have the time to do it. Discussion above together with a response rate of above 50
percent, I believe that not being able to obtain 100 percent response rate have not affected the
result of the survey.
The answers of the survey was processed through a program SPSS (Statistical
Package for Social Sciences). The full text of the survey and its result can be seen in the
Appendix.
22
Osanami 811120-7760
3.3 Interview
Interviews have been carried out to understand why survey respondents chose the answer they
have chosen. Moreover to find out why, if there are different attitudes towards different
immigrant groups, people have different opinions and where they come from. Here I fully
recognize that the fact that I am a South East Asian immigrant myself may affect the answers
the respondents give.
All of the interviews were carried out on January 25th 2006 at one of the private
rooms at the bank. The length of the interview varied between 20 minutes to 40 minutes and
all of the interviews were carried out in English. Some respondents used some Swedish words
when they could not find English words to express their opinion, only when I understood what
the words mean. Interview was given to five persons, and four of them were those who have
answered the survey. The interview respondent who has not answered the survey gave me as
much information as the other interview respondents, even though the person expressed the
feeling of being not prepared enough for the interview. Three out of five interview
respondents live outside Malmö commune and out of those, two are over 50 years of age. The
rest lives inside Malmö commune and are under the age of 50. Four of the respondents were
male and only one was female. The five interview respondents were chosen by the person in
charge of the office. Therefore it is possible that the interview result reflected more
open-minded persons’ perspectives than the average. However I do not believe that this was
the case since the five interview respondents represented various backgrounds, and expressed
their opinions differently on several occasions. I have asked more female to participate in the
interviews however they did not want to for some reasons. It may be because the interview
was in English, it may be that they did not have time, or it may be that they simply did not
want to. Considering that the number of male and female respondents on the survey was
almost equal, there seems to be a reason behind the unwillingness to participate in an
interview, which cannot be investigated here.
Before the interview, it has been explained that the answers the respondents give
would be presented anonymously in the thesis and that all the information I would get would
be kept only with me. All of the conversation has been tape recorded with the respondents’
agreements. Interviews took a semi-structural way that gives the respondents space to freely
23
Osanami 811120-7760
express themselves in a conversational style. I have tried not to ask questions in a leading way
by directing questions equally to the four groups. Four central questions being asked and
answered in the interviews were the following.

Can you tell me what you think about each of the four groups?

Do you agree with the survey result, why and why not?

What makes you have different opinions on different groups?

Do you have any thoughts of how immigrant should act in Sweden, and are the four
groups following those?
More specifically, I have asked the questions in the following way so that I will not be leading
the respondents and can get equal amount of information on each of the groups: Can you tell
me what you think about Latin American/Middle Eastern/South East Asian/African?
Depending on the answers to the above four questions, I have asked different follow
up questions. The follow up questions asked to the respondents vary and differ a lot between
the persons, since the interviews were semi-structured and conversational. Follow up
questions were directed also to each of the four groups so that respondents would be able to
answer what they have experienced, feel, think and know about each groups in details and I
would be able to get as much information as possible on each groups.
In analyzing the interview result, each of the five respondents is given random
Swedish names, Kim, John, Christian, Bo and Vincent. I have kept the interview respondents’
anonymities by giving them random names and by not revealing significant name of the place
and event respondents have given me.
In Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, it is
written that the problem with interview data is that they are “never simply raw, but are always
situated and textual” (Punch 2005:177). Punch quotes,
the interview is a conversation, the art of asking questions and listening. It is not a
neutral tool, for the interviewer creates the reality of the interview situation. In this
situation answers are given. Thus the interview produces situated understandings
grounded in specific interactional episodes. This method is influenced by the personal
characteristics of the interviewer, including race, class, ethnicity and gender (Denzin
and Lincoln, 1994:353) (ibid. p.177).
24
Osanami 811120-7760
Holm and Solvang writes that
[t]he respondents do not like to disappoint the researcher with the answers they give
– therefore the answers can become closer to an expression of what the respondents
believe the researcher want to hear, rather than what they think themselves1 (Holm
and Solvang 1997:106).
In carrying out the interviews I not only recognize the affect I have on the interview
respondents by being South East Asian but also the above explained interview effects. All of
the interview respondents expressed that the questions being asked were not sensitive but hard
to answer. When I asked the respondents if they were able to articulate all the thoughts they
had in mind, all of the five respondents answered yes.
I am aware of the limitation over the objectivity I have in analyzing the interview
result. As I have discussed earlier, I myself is a South East Asian immigrant and this point
may have influenced me in analyzing the group. I also have personal opinions towards the
four groups, which also may have affected the analysis. However, I am conscious about this
fact and by recognizing this limitation I expect to manage keeping the distance between the
material I get and myself.
1
Translated from Swedish: Undersökningspersonerna vill då ogärna göra forskaren besviken med de svar de ger
– svaren kan då snarare bli ett uttryck för vad de tror att forskaren vill höra än för vad de själva tycker.
25
Osanami 811120-7760
4. Result and Analysis of the Survey
4.1 Overview
70 copies of survey were distributed at a bank office in Malmö and 36 of them were answered.
Because this study is about how the ethnic Swedes perceive different immigrant groups, I
exclude those who have answered “no” to the question “Is at least one of your parents born
and raised in Sweden?”2 from the analysis. Two of the respondents have given the answer
suggesting that they are not ethnic Swedes, and one has given no answer on the question. The
number of valid response to the survey which is being analyzed here will be 33. Out of 33
responses, 17 are men and 16 are women. 19 are over 50 years old, 12 are between 31 to 50
years old, and two are under 30 years old of age. 14 respondents live inside and 19 live
outside Malmö commune. As discussed earlier in 3.2, the survey was given out to those who
are white-collar workers in the office therefore I assume that all of the respondents have high
educational backgrounds to a certain extent.
The answer alternatives respondents were given with are “agree3”, “partially agree4”,
“partially disagree5”, “disagree6” and “don’t know7.” I analyze the answer “disagree” as
showing negative attitudes towards the group, and “agree” showing positive attitudes towards
the group. Full result is shown on the Appendix 2.
Graph 1 presents the result of the first statement “I have a positive picture of the
individuals from the following groups in general”8. 33 respondents in total have answered the
question. South East Asian received the most positive response, while Middle Eastern got the
most negative.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
The statements are written in Swedish in the survey: Är minst en av dina föräldrar född och uppväxt i Sverige?
Instämmer
Instämmer delvis
Instämmer delvis inte
Instämmer inte
Vet ej
Jag har generellt en positiv bild av individer från denna invandrargrupp.
26
Osanami 811120-7760
18
16
16
15
14
12
12
11
Number
10
10
10
9
Latin American
9
Middle Eastern
8
South East Asian
7
6
6
5
5
African
5
4
4
3
2
2
1
1
1
0
0
Don't know
Disagree
Partially disagree
Graph 1. I have a positive picture of the following group
Partially agree
Agree
Total number of answers 33
Result of the second statement “I have positive experiences with the individuals from
the following groups”9 showed the same pattern as the previous statement, except that the
number of answers on “partially disagree” dropped for Middle Eastern. The figure of
respondents who has answered “don’t know” increased for all of the groups compared to the
previous question and the increase was larger for Middle Eastern and African. The number of
answers on “don’t know” changed from 2 to 7 for Middle Eastern and from 5 to 10 for
African. With a comparison to the prior statement on positive picture of the groups, it can be
understood that the picture of the groups the survey respondents have may be based not only
on the actual experiences but also on something else, especially for Middle Eastern and
African.
The answers to the third statement “I feel comfortable to have individuals from the
following groups as my neighbor”10 also illustrated a similar pattern as the two previous
statements although, for the first time South East Asian received more answers on “partially
agree” than “agree”. It is interesting to see that South East Asian for the first time received
9
10
Jag har generellt positiva erfarenheter av individer från denna invandrargrupp.
Jag känner mig komfortabel med att individer från denna invandrargrupp flyttar in som mina grannar.
27
Osanami 811120-7760
less positive answers. Is there any reason behind this? This point is discussed later in the
analysis of interview 5.3.
The fourth statement “I feel comfortable to have a colleague from the following
groups”11 presented the same pattern as the previous statements. However the fifth statement
“I feel comfortable to have a boss from the following groups”12 showed a different pattern
compared to the statement on having a colleague. On the result of the statement on having a
boss, an obvious decline in the positive answers and increase in negative answers for all of the
groups can be seen. The number of respondents who answered “don’t know” slightly
increased on the statement on having a boss compared to the statement on having a colleague.
Below graph shows the differences in the number of respondents who answered “agree” or
“partially agree” for colleague and boss.
30
25
24
23
20
Number
18
17
18
17
Boss positive
15
Colleague positive
12
12
10
5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
Graph 2. Comparison: colleague and boss positive
South East Asian
African
Numbers are out of 33
It can be assumed that some racist and xenophobic feelings may be involved in answering this
statement. Also since it can be the case that the survey respondents do not have a colleague or
a boss from the four immigrant groups, the answers respondents gave are hypothetical and
therefore may be based on stereotypes and labels the four groups are embedded with.
11
12
Jag känner mig komfortabel med att ha arbetskollegor från denna invandrargrupp.
Jag känner mig komfortabel med att ha en chef från denna invandrargrupp.
28
Osanami 811120-7760
None of the 33 respondents have given the answer “don’t know” to the sixth
statement, “I feel comfortable passing by a group of teenagers from the following groups
during the day time”13. The fact that nobody answered “don’t know” indicates that compared
to the other statements, especially to the previous statement on having a colleague or a boss,
this statement reflects what the survey respondents experience or have experienced in reality.
The same pattern that South East Asian receiving the most positive and Middle Eastern
receiving the most negative response can be observed on the result, however, South East
Asian and Latin American received more answers on “partially disagree” and “disagree”
compared to the previous statements, for example the first and the second statements. The
problem here is that the result does not show how people would feel if the group of teenagers
were Swedish. This point will be found out and discussed later with the result of interviews.
Next graph shows the result of the seventh statement, “The individuals from the
following groups are interested in taking part in Swedish society”14. Compared to the previous
statements, especially with the first two statements, number of respondents who “agree” to the
statement has declined for Latin American and South East Asian. However still, South East
Asian got the most positive response while Middle Eastern received the most negative
response. It is interesting to see that respondents do not agree so much that the individuals
from the four groups are interested in taking part of the Swedish society. The differences in
the number of positive and negative answers for different groups are also interesting to look at.
What are the things that make the ethnic Swedes think that immigrants from the four groups
are or are not interested in taking part in Swedish society? What makes ethnic Swedes think
that South East Asian and Latin American are more interested in taking part of Swedish
society than African or Middle Eastern? What is “taking part” in Swedish society? Previous
study by Magdalena Nordin showed, for someone to be a “real Swedish”, people have
answered that it is very important or quite important for example that the person respect
Swedish state and law, speak Swedish, feel like Swedes, be a Swedish citizen, and so on
(Nordin 2001:119). I assume that these aspects are involved here as well in how survey
respondents decide if the individuals from the four groups are interested in taking part in
Swedish society. Stereotypes and stigma are also expected to be involved in answering the
statement.
13
14
Jag känner mig komfortabel med att dagstid passera en grupp tonåringar från denna invandrargrupp.
Individer från denna invandrargrupp är intresserade av att vara en del av det svenska samhället.
29
Osanami 811120-7760
16
14
14
12
12
12
Number
10
9
Latin American
9 9
Middle Eastern
8
8
7
6
7
7
5
4
South East Asian
7
5
African
5
5
3
3
2
2
2
1
0
Don't know
Disagree
Partially disagree
Graph 3. Interested in taking part in Swedish society
Partially agree
Agree
Total number of answers 33
The answers on the eighth statement “The individuals from the following groups are
successful in taking part in Swedish society”15 were more negative for all of the groups
compared to the response to the prior statement. This statement, compared to the first to the
seventh statements, reflects the society’s perspective of the groups, rather than the attitudes of
the individual survey respondents. Graph 4 shows the comparison of the number of
respondents who has answered “disagree” or “partially disagree” for the statement on if
individuals from the four groups are interested or successful in taking part in Swedish society.
The increase in the negative response can be clearly seen. The difference in the number of
negative answers between the seventh and eighth statements is important to look at. As I
stated before, the seventh statement on if the four groups are interested in taking part of
Swedish society reflects the survey respondents’ individual attitudes towards the groups,
however the eighth statement on if the groups are successful in taking part of Swedish society
reflect the society’s perspective. Here again, what does it mean for ethnic Swedes that the four
immigrant groups “take part” in Swedish Society? Why is it that even though some
15
Individer från denna invandrargrupp är framgångsrika i att vara en del av det svenska samhället.
30
Osanami 811120-7760
immigrants are thought to be interested in taking part of Swedish society, they are not thought
to be as successful? The differences in the number of negative answers can be inferring racism
and xenophobia underlying in Swedish society that hinders immigrants from the four groups
to be successful in taking part of Swedish society.
25
21
20
19
19
15
14
Interested
12
Successful
10
9
7
5
5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
Graph 4. Comparison: Interest and success in integration
African
Numbers are out of 33
The majority of the respondents who has answered the ninth statement “The
individuals from the following groups face racism and discrimination in their life”16 have
agreed that the individuals from the four immigrant groups face racism and discrimination in
their life. This confirms the assumption made in the previous paragraph that there may be
racism and xenophobia underlying in Swedish society that prevents some immigrants from the
four groups to be successful in taking part of Swedish society. This statement, as the prior
statement, also does not necessarily reflect the survey respondents’ subjective view but rather
objective view of the groups. The summary of the result is shown on the graph below with the
number of people who have answered “don’t know”.
16
Individer från denna invandrargrupp möter rasism och diskriminering i sina vardagliga liv.
31
Osanami 811120-7760
25
22
20
20
18
18
Number
15
Latin American
Middle Eastern
10
10
9
9
South East Asian
9
African
6
6
5
3
2
0
Don't know
Disagree/partially disagree
Graph 5. Racism and discrimination
Agree/partially agree
Total number of answers 33
Among all of the statements given on the survey, Middle Eastern received the worst
response to the tenth statement, “The individuals from the following groups have cultural
values that are compatible with Swedish culture”17. This statement reflects both subjective and
objective opinions and attitudes the survey respondents have. Overall, all of the groups show
very low numbers on “agree” although South East Asian and Latin American still received
more answers on “agree” and “partially agree” than “disagree” and “partially disagree”. I
assume that stereotypes, stigma and labels the four groups are entailed with have played some
roles when survey respondents gave answers to the statement. Here it is hard to see what
people thought about when looking at the word “culture”. In the interviews, “culture” people
thought about was expressed and discussed.
17
Individer från denna invandrargrupp har kulturella värderingar som är förenliga med det svenska samhället.
32
Osanami 811120-7760
18
16
16
15
14
13
Number
12
11
10
9
8
8
Latin American
8
6
Middle Eastern
6
6
5
4
4
4
4
South East Asian
5
African
4
3
3
2
2
1
1
0
Don't know
Disagree
Partially disagree
Graph 6. The following group is culturally compatible
Partially agree
Agree
Total number of answers 32
No answer 1
The result of “The individuals from the following groups have positive influence on
Swedish society”18 showed the similar pattern as the result of the first statement, which is the
most common pattern shown through out the result. South East Asian received the most
positive result, Latin American received the second most positive result, African the third and
Middle Eastern received the most negative result. This statement reflects individual’s attitudes
towards the groups, as the first to the seventh statements do.
Table 1 shows the average answer of the survey for each group. The average does not
include the answer “don’t know”. 1 equals to “disagree” and 4 equals to “agree”. Total
average in brackets shows the average which excludes the statements eight to ten. I have done
this since those three statements do not necessarily reflect individuals’ attitudes while the
other statements do.
18
Individer från denna invandrargrupp bidrar positivt till det svenska samhället..
33
Osanami 811120-7760
I have a positive picture
I have positive experiences
I feel comfortable to have a neighbor
…a colleague
…a boss
…passing by a group of teenagers
Interest in integration
Successful in integration
Face racism and discrimination
Culturally compatible
Positive influence
Total
South East
Asian
3.5
3.6
3.3
3.5
3.0
2.8
2.9
2.6
3.0
2.7
3.0
3.1
(3.2)
Latin
American
3.3
3.4
3.2
3.4
3.0
2.6
2.8
2.4
3.1
2.7
3.0
3.0
(3.1)
African
2.6
2.5
2.6
3.0
2.6
2.2
2.2
2.0
3.4
2.0
2.5
2.5
(2.5)
Middle
Eastern
2.2
2.2
2.3
2.9
2.5
2.0
1.8
1.9
3.4
1.6
2.3
2.3
(2.3)
Table 1. Average
The survey result showed that respondents have different attitudes towards different
immigrant groups. Survey respondents had the most positive attitudes towards South East
Asian, then Latin American, followed by African and the most negative attitudes towards
Middle Eastern. Then, my question continues to why respondents have different attitudes
towards different groups and where they come from.
4.2 Comparison with sex
Before analyzing why respondents have different attitudes and where they come from, I
would like to look into the result with different variables. When the average answer is
compared between men and women, differences can be seen on the answers male and female
respondents gave. Graph 7 shows the comparison between men and women’s average answer
to the first statement “I have a positive picture of the individuals from the following groups in
general”. The pattern which can be seen on the graph is the pattern that is seen often when
comparing the average answer given by men and women. As mentioned before, 17
respondents are men and 16 are women. Generally, men answered more positively to the
statements than women and the gap between the two is big especially for Middle Eastern and
African. On some of the statements women gave more positive answers than men for Latin
34
Osanami 811120-7760
American and South East Asian. Overall, women tended to give slightly more answers on
“don’t know” compared to men depending on the statements.
4
3.5
3.6
3.4
3.4
3.2
Agree
3
2.8
2.5
2.5
2.4
Women
2
Men
Disagree
1.8
1.5
1
0.5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph. 7. Comparison between sex: I have a positive picture
Graph 7 above represented the most common pattern however some interesting
patterns were seen on the result to some of the statements. To the statement “I feel
comfortable to have a colleague from the following groups” women gave almost the same or
slightly more positive answers than men. However to the statement “I feel comfortable to
have a boss from the following groups” men were more positive than women and the gap was
quite big except for Latin American and South East Asian. Why is it that women feel much
more negative about having a boss than having a colleague from the four immigrant groups?
Is it related to the question of “culture” and the view of women the groups are believed to
posses? This point was discussed in the interviews with some respondents, which is presented
in 5.2. Graph 8 shows the comparison to the statement on having a colleague and the
following graph 9 shows that of having a boss.
35
Osanami 811120-7760
4
Agree
3.5
3.5
3.4
3
3.5
3.1
2.9
2.9
2.5
2
Women
Men
Disagree
1.5
1
0.5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph 8. Comparison between sex: Colleague
3.5
3
2.9
3.1
3.1
2.8
Agree
3
2.8
2.5
2.3
2.2
2
Women
Men
Disagree
1.5
1
0.5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph. 9. Comparison with sex: I feel comfortable to have a boss
36
Osanami 811120-7760
The average answer to the statement “I feel comfortable passing by a group of
teenagers from the following groups during the day time” showed clearly that men were
answering more positively than women. Graph 10 shows the comparison of average answer
between men and women on the statement.
3.5
Agree
3
3
2.9
2.6
2.5
2.3
2.4
2.4
2
1.9
1.8
Women
Disagree
1.5
Men
1
0.5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph 10. Comparison with sex: passing by teenagers
The tenth statement “The individuals from the following groups have cultural values
that are compatible with Swedish culture” has also shown that there is a big gap between men
and women’s response for all of the four groups. The figures are shown on graph 11. When it
comes to the statement on passing by a group of teenagers, it can be assumed that men in
general feel stronger and more confident than women when facing the situation. However for
the statement of cultural compatibility, why is it that women gave more negative answers than
men? What do women see in the “culture” of the four groups? Again, women’s answers might
be affected by the supposed view of women the groups have, as in the statements of having a
colleague or a boss.
37
Osanami 811120-7760
3.5
3
Agree
3
2.9
2.6
2.5
2.3
2.3
2
1.9
Women
1.7
Men
Disagree
1.5
1.4
1
0.5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph. 11. Comparison with sex: cultural compatibility
Table 2 shows the total average of the answers men and women gave. 1 represents
“disagree” and 4 represents “agree”. The average does not include those who did not answer
the question or those who answered “don’t know”. Total average in brackets shows the
average which excludes the statements eight to ten since the excluded statements do not
necessarily reflect individuals’ attitudes. As I have stated earlier, the most common pattern
that was seen between the comparison of men and women was that men answer more
positively to the statements than women and the gap between the two is big especially for
Middle Eastern and African. Prior study in Svenska om Sverige och Svenskheten has shown
that there is not a big differences in attitudes between Swedish men and women when the
questions are about Sweden, Swedes or other people (Nordin 2001:127). However this survey
result showed that differences in attitudes can be seen between men and women.
South East Asian
Latin American
African
Middle Eastern
Men
3.1 (3.2)
3.1 (3.2)
2.7 (2.7)
2.5 (2.6)
Women
3.0 (3.1)
2.9 (3.0)
2.3 (2.4)
2.0 (2.0)
Table 2. Average comparison: men and women
38
Osanami 811120-7760
4.3 Comparison with the place of living
Since the bank office is located in the city of Malmö I expect that all of the survey
respondents have chances of experiencing interaction with immigrants from the four groups.
Although, there can be differences in the degree of how much interaction survey respondents
have depending on the place of living. When the average answer is compared with the place
of living, it shows that people living outside Malmö have answered more positively to the
statements in general with some exceptions on South East Asian. South East Asian is the only
group among the four which showed that people living in Malmö commune does not
necessarily have more negative attitudes compared with people living outside the commune.
The gap between the answers of people living inside and outside Malmö commune was the
biggest for Middle Eastern and African, just as it was when comparing men and women’s
response. People living outside Malmö tended to answer “don’t know” slightly more than the
ones living in Malmö. These patterns were seen through out the whole result when the
average responses are compared with the place of living. It can be assumed that people living
in Malmö commune may have more opportunities of meeting the individuals from the four
groups than the people living outside Malmö commune and that people living in Malmö may
be answering the questions from their experience while people living outside Malmö may be
answering hypothetically and as a result, in a more politically correct way.
Graph12 shows the average answer to the statement “I have a positive picture of the
individuals from the following groups in general” compared with the place of living. The
graph represents the common pattern that can be seen when comparing the average answers
with the place of living.
39
Osanami 811120-7760
4
3.5
Agree
3
3.5
3.4
3.4
3.1
2.8
2.6
2.5
2.3
2
Inside Malmo
1.9
Disagree
Outside Malmo
1.5
1
0.5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph 12. Comparison with the place of living: positive picture
Graph 13 on the next page shows the average answer to the statement “The
individuals from the following groups are interested in taking part in Swedish society”
compared with the place of living. The graph shows a different pattern from what it was
discussed previously. It is interesting to see that respondents living in Malmö commune gave
much more positive answer to South East Asian than those living outside Malmö, while for
other three groups, respondents living in Malmö gave more negative answers. The answer to
the statement “The individuals from the following groups are successful in taking part in
Swedish society” showed that people living in Malmö commune have more negative attitude
for all of the four groups as shown in graph 14, which is the common pattern seen when
comparing the answer with the place of living. The result shows that immigrants from the four
groups are not as successful in taking part of the Swedish society as they are perceived to be
interested in taking part of Swedish society. This point, as discussed earlier with the overview
of the result, suggests that there may exist for example racism, discrimination or stereotypes
that hold back immigrants from the four groups to be successful in taking part of Swedish
society. It is especially reflected on the response people living inside Malmö have given
towards South East Asian as it is shown on graph 13 and 14.
40
Osanami 811120-7760
3.5
3
Disagree
Agree
2.5
3.1
3.1
2.6
2.6
2.5
2.1
2
1.9
1.7
Inside Malmo
1.5
Outside Malmo
1
0.5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph 13. Comparison between the place of living: integration interest
3
2,8
2,6
2,5
2,5
Agree
2,3
2
2,3
2
1,8
1,7
Disagree
1,5
Inside Malmo
Outside Malmo
1
0,5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph 14. Comparison between the place of living: integration success
41
Osanami 811120-7760
The average answer to the statement “The individuals from the following groups face
racism and discrimination in their life” on graph 15 shows that people living inside Malmö
commune disagreed to the statement more than people living outside Malmö commune. The
gap is the biggest for South East Asian. It is interesting to see that people living outside
Malmö agrees more that the individuals from the four groups are facing racism and
discrimination. This may have correlations to the degree of experience survey respondents
have with the immigrants from the four groups. Respondents living in Malmö commune may
be giving answers with their personal experiences of witnessing or not witnessing racism or
discrimination against individuals with immigrant backgrounds, while respondents living
outside Malmö commune may be answering the statement with more hypothetically based on
what they hear from media and so on.
4
3.5
3.3
Agree
3
3.5
3.3
3.6
3.3
3.2
2.9
2.6
2.5
Disagree
2
Inside Malmo
Outside Malmo
1.5
1
0.5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph 15. Comparison between the place of living: racism and discrimination
Graph 16 on next page shows the average response to the statement “The individuals from the
following groups have positive influence on Swedish society”. It clearly presents the
difference in the attitude between the respondents living inside and outside Malmö commune.
The gap between the two is significantly big for all of the four groups. Here again, the prior
experiences the survey respondents have had may be affecting in answering this statement.
Respondents living outside Malmö might have been giving more politically correct answers
42
Osanami 811120-7760
while respondents living inside Malmö chose their answers honestly by assessing the
experiences they have had and what they observe in the city.
3.5
3.2
3.2
Agree
3
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.8
2
2.9
2
Disagree
1.7
Inside Malmo
1.5
Outside Malmo
1
0.5
0
Latin American
Middle Eastern
South East Asian
African
Graph 16. Comparison between the place of living: positive influence
Table 3 shows the total average of the answers respondents living inside and outside
Malmö commune have given. As in table 1 and 2, 1 equals to the answer “disagree” and 4
equals to “agree”. The average excludes those who did not give any answers or those who
have answered “don’t know”. The number in the brackets shows the average to the statements
one to seven and ten, for the same reason as explained earlier. As it can be seen on the table,
the result showed that people living outside Malmö commune gave more positive responses
compared to those who live inside Malmö commune, with some exceptions for South East
Asian.
South East Asian
Latin American
African
Middle Eastern
Inside Malmö
3.0 (3.2)
2.8 (2.9)
2.2 (2.2)
2.0 (1.9)
Outside Malmö
3.0 (3.2)
3.1 (3.2)
2.7 (2.8)
2.5 (2.5)
Table 3. Average comparison: place of living
43
Osanami 811120-7760
4.4 Summary
The result of the survey showed that respondents have different attitudes towards different
groups. The preference order was the following; South East Asian, Latin American, African
and Middle Eastern. It can be inferred that racism and stereotypes, stigma and labels the
groups are entailed with plays a role in respondents’ answering the statements. Contrary to the
prior study showing no differences in attitudes between men and women, this survey result
showed that male respondents in general gave more positive answers than female respondents
and the gap between the two is big especially for Middle Eastern and African. The place of
living also seems to affect the attitudes survey respondents have towards the four immigrant
groups. It showed that respondents living outside Malmö have answered the statements more
positively in general compared to those who live inside Malmö. It can be assumed that the
degree of personal experiences and interaction with the four immigrant groups survey
respondents have may be affecting how those living inside and outside Malmö commune
answered the statements.
The next chapter discusses and analyzes where the different opinions come from ad
why people have different opinion towards four different immigrant groups, Latin American,
South East Asian, African and Middle Eastern.
44
Osanami 811120-7760
5. Analysis of Interviews
5.1 Different opinion towards different groups
All of the five interview respondents have expressed that there is a big difference between
Swedes and Middle Eastern population. John stated
“I think people from Middle East, they are a bit more aggressive than other people
from other parts of the world.”
When describing the group, respondents used words such as, criminal, loud, different, or not
respecting the Swedes. All of the interview respondents have mentioned that their opinions
about Middle Eastern population come from what they see on the streets of Malmö or what
they hear and see in media the most, rather than direct experiences or interactions with the
group. When I asked the first interview question “Can you tell me what you think about each
of the four groups?” Christian expressed
“[people from] Middle East, unfortunately the things you read in the newspapers, bad
stuffs, terrorist, but I have a lot of friends that are from the Middle East too so I know
it’s not true always.”
The immigrant group African was often compared with the group Middle Eastern. For
example, Vincent stated that he thinks African immigrants are “involved in much less trouble”
compared to immigrants from Middle East. He continued and said that it has been easy to
communicate with people from Africa since the ones he has met could speak English. Vincent
continued and made a point that,
“There are big differences between the people from West Africa and East Africa like
Somalia. That’s like the Middle East, but the people from Nigeria and Cameroon and
stuff like that, they are often Christians and it doesn’t matter so much to me the
religion but the values are often connected to religion in some way.”
Some of the interview respondents said that Africans are not a big immigrant group in Sweden
therefore they have almost no experience of interacting with Africans. In general, respondents
had less opinions and things to say about African population compared to Middle Eastern.
Quite contrary to the words used to describe Middle Eastern, South East Asian was described
45
Osanami 811120-7760
with words such as nice, hard working, positive, and polite. Some of the respondents have
used words such as “they are like us” when describing Latin American or South East Asian.
When I asked John if he can consider becoming a best friend with individuals from the four
groups, he said,
“If I have to pick a special, South East Asian maybe, perhaps. I think we are a bit
more the same. We are calm, friendly…Calm not very aggressive. A bit relaxed, like
myself.”
Vincent describes Latin American, based on his experience as “exactly the same” as Swedes,
and South East Asian as “very alike” to Swedes in the aspect of “quietness and following the
rules” that they “blend in [to Swedish society], in a smooth way”.
What is interesting is that respondents often tied Middle Eastern and African together
when describing the groups. As Middle Eastern and African were tied together, Latin
American and South East Asian were also often coupled together when interview respondents
expressed their thoughts. This happened especially when I asked one of the four main
interview questions, “Do you have any thoughts of how immigrant should act in Sweden, and
are the four groups following those?” For example, John has expressed
“South East Asian and Latin American, they are trying to get into Swedish society a
bit more better than the people from Middle East or Africa, I think so.”
He continued and said that African people and Middle Eastern people are not the same as
Latin American or South East Asian. Kim stated that South East Asian and Latin Americans
are trying “to be like we[Swedes] are” more than Middle Eastern people, though they may be
trying as well.
As I have discussed earlier in 3.3, I understand the interview effect that respondents
may have given me the answers I would like to hear, and also the fact that I am a South East
Asian immigrant may have affected the description of the four groups respondents have given.
Out of five respondents, one has mentioned me in explaining South East Asian. He said
“The people I met from my trips, I’m very positive to their polite way and very soft
way. Like you are also from Japan, it is a very soft way if you compare to Sweden.”
There is another possibility that by being presented with the four immigrant groups, interview
respondents started to have clear opinions towards the groups which they did not posses prior
46
Osanami 811120-7760
to the interviews. These interview effects are something that cannot be helped and I
understand that these effects may have influenced the respondents’ answers.
I assumed that the place of living affects the degree of interaction with individuals
from the four immigrant groups, and as a result survey respondents who lives outside Malmö
commune answered the survey hypothetically and more politically correct. This seem to be
incorrect since according to the interviews, interview respondents both living inside and
outside Malmö have constructed their opinions about the groups not only based on
experiences but also on what they hear or see in public and media. Vincent has a best friend
with Latin American background and Christian have interacted with all of the four groups
personally except for South East Asian, however other interview respondents both living
inside and outside Malmö have expressed that they do not have much experience of
personally interacting with immigrants from the four groups.
When it comes to answering “don’t know” the place of living could have influenced
the answer. John, who lives inside Malmö, expressed that his opinion comes from what he
sees on the streets of Malmö. Bo who lives outside Malmö said that there are not so many
immigrants living in the area where he lives in. It can be assumed that some of the survey
respondents living inside Malmö commune have more chances to observe and experience
interaction with immigrants even though they do not have personal relationships while
respondents living outside Malmö commune have fewer encounters with immigrants as a
whole compared to the people living inside Malmö. The increase in the numbers of answer on
“don’t know” on certain statements indicates the lack of both direct and indirect experience.
For example the statements on if individuals from the four groups are interested or successful
in taking part of Swedish society showed that the number of respondents who answer “don’t
know” is clearly more for those who live outside Malmö commune than the ones who live
inside Malmö commune. It can be understood that lack of encounter with immigrants and less
experience in observing how immigrants act could be the reason for the difference in the
number of answers.
Christian said that he has many friends who are originally from Middle East and his
personal and positive experience affect the view of Middle Eastern people in general. Vincent
has a best friend who is from Latin America therefore he has had many positive experiences
with Latin Americans. Vincent said that even though he recognizes the differences between
Latin American and Swedes, when he thinks about the group in general, the experience with
47
Osanami 811120-7760
his best friend and other Latin Americans he has interacted with affected his answers on the
survey. Some of the interview respondents themselves have traveled or knew people who have
traveled to South East Asia or Latin America; however none of them knew people who have
traveled to Africa or Middle East. Bo said that the positive experiences he had in South East
Asian countries is the reason why he has positive attitudes towards the South East Asian
population in Sweden. Not only Bo but also some other respondents agreed that experiences
outside Sweden affect how they view the groups in Sweden. Therefore it can be understood
that strong and positive personal experiences of interacting with individuals from the four
groups affect the attitudes towards the groups themselves in general and it does not matter
where you live or if the experience takes place within or outside Sweden.
On the survey it was shown that men answer more positively than women in general
and the gap between the two was big especially for Middle Eastern and African. The reason
for the difference in the attitudes between men and women is difficult to know however was
discussed by Kim and Vincent. Both said that the view of women they consider the groups
hold, have an influence on how Swedish women think about the groups. Kim says that
because she believes that individuals from Middle East have certain view of women, she feel
uncomfortable with them. Vincent also expressed his thought that when answering statements
such as having a boss or a colleague, groups’ view of women would affect the answers.
5.2 Us and Other
From the prior discussion of respondents’ different opinions on each group, it can be inferred
that different relations of us and others exist and they appear to affect how the respondents
view the four immigrant groups. It is clearly indicated that Middle Eastern has a position as a
hostile other. This exclusivist view as explained earlier in this thesis depicts others as enemy,
different from us and culturally and morally incompatible with us. The survey result shows
that 15 respondents disagree, 9 partially disagree, only one agrees and three partially agree to
the statement “The individuals from the following groups have cultural values that are
compatible with Swedish culture” when it comes to Middle Eastern. This evidently reflects
one of the notions of the hostile other that they are culturally incompatible. Kim expresses her
thoughts about the cultural compatibility of Middle Eastern population in the interview.
48
Osanami 811120-7760
“Well they[immigrants from Middle East] have their religion, maybe they do[try to
be like Swedes] but they can’t dress like us and so on, but I think they try as hard.
And also, they are also very patriarchy, from the fathers, that the girls and the young
women they can’t do what they maybe would have liked, to be more like Swedish or
European. They can’t because of the fathers.”
Christian also expresses the difficulty for Middle Eastern population to take part in Swedish
society because of their incompatibility.
“Religion is strict and [immigrants from Middle East] try to stick to the religion when
they move to Sweden. Swedish laws are not the same. I think there are a lot of
conflict.”
African has a position similar to Middle Eastern, but not as obvious. People rather associate
African population to Middle Eastern population than to Swedish population, which shows
that interview respondents still view African as different from us.
Contrary to Middle Eastern and African, Latin American and South East Asian are
viewed as relative others and they are recognized in relation to their proximity to Swedes.
This can be seen by the usage of words by the interview respondents in describing the two
groups. John for example have said
“I think they[South East Asian] are living their lives, not many people are doing,
joining the Swedish culture. Perhaps, if I move to Middle East I try to keep my
Swedish culture strong, so.”
Here, it is interesting to see that John perceives “living own lives without taking part in
Swedish culture” not necessarily as a negative aspect of South East Asian but rather positive
and put himself into South East Asians’ shoes and showed understanding by saying that he
would do the same if he had to move to another country. This expression of understanding or
associating respondents themselves to the immigrant group was not seen when interview
respondents described Middle Eastern population. The third representation of other, which is
the exotic other, is also reflected on the description of South East Asian and Latin American.
The exotic other is constructed through “fantasies, dreams” and with symbols of “positive,
romanticised, sentimental qualities” as discussed in the theory section. Others are perceived as
“unknown” however, contrary to the hostile other, they are not perceived as an enemy.
Christian expressed that when it comes to Latin American, he thinks about the native
population and the tradition they practice. John has told a story he had heard from his friend.
49
Osanami 811120-7760
“I have never been to Thailand myself but you always hear from friends and
neighbors who has been there, [that] they are always very nice, always very friendly.
They put other people in the first line. You’re freezing and they will give you the
t-shirt and they will freeze themselves.”
Bo has also revealed his astonishment he felt when he traveled to South East Asian countries.
“In country name[South East Asia] I was astonished by the fact that five minutes
after you arrived at the hotel, everybody knew who you were and greeted you by
name. How they do it, I don’t know. That never happens here [in Sweden].”
What the three respondents have expressed have nothing to do with immigrants in Sweden,
since the incidents did not take place in Sweden. However still as I have discussed earlier,
experiences outside Sweden affect how respondents see the groups in Sweden. Underlying the
comments by Bo, Christian and John is the fantasy, utopian and sentimental feelings which
reflect the idea of exotic other can be seen.
5.3 Racism and Xenophobia
The survey result showed that respondents are less comfortable to have a boss from the four
immigrant groups than a colleague. Vincent said that he would feel the same about having a
boss or a colleague but added that he would “almost think it’s easier to have a boss”. This
contradicts to the survey result. Unfortunately he did not give any explanations to why he
thinks so. Kim has expressed that she can consider having a colleague or a boss from the four
immigrant groups however she would feel less comfortable having a Middle Eastern boss
compared to having a colleague. Kim could not explain why she felt that way and says “I
shouldn’t really if I didn’t have any [Middle Eastern boss] and didn’t know.” It can be
interpreted that her words not only reflect the earlier discussed worries for the assumed view
of the women the groups have but also some xenophobic feelings, a fear for the unknown,
plays some role in creating negative attitudes.
The survey result showed that survey respondents agreed that racism and
discrimination exists in Sweden and individuals from the four groups are facing it. Interview
with Vincent further supported the idea that xenophobia and racism exist in society. Vincent
said
50
Osanami 811120-7760
“Personally I don’t have much problems [with] any of these groups. I can’t really
understand why people couldn’t have a boss or colleague from the group. I could
understand why people wouldn’t want to have a neighbor because then you are
talking money. If you have paid a lot for the apartment or a house and you get a
family from yeah immigrant family moving in next door. Maybe that can affect the
market value so, because of people’s opinion. That’s how prejudice and racism
works. Capitalist society. That’s how it works, so maybe I can understand, not
because you don’t like the people but you are afraid of your own investment.”
Since he used the word racism, I asked him if he thinks that racism exist in Sweden. Vincent
answered that statements on having a colleague or a boss from the four groups probably
involves racist feelings and some people would have an opinion such as “why should
[immigrants] boss over me in my own country”. Vincent continued talking about structural
racism in the housing market.
“It’s the structure of the economy and the society…There’re couple looking out and
meeting the neighbors and they think oh! Especially in a town like this that is so
segregated, [one will think] oh what is this? Is this the next Rosengård?19”
His words explains why even South East Asian, who ethnic Swedes have the most positive
attitudes towards according to the survey result, received more negative answers on the
statement “I feel comfortable to have individuals from the following groups as my neighbor”
compared to the other statements. Here Vincent recognizes the reality of the structural racism
in Sweden and how it works among the people as everyday racism. The three characteristics
of everyday racism explained by Essed, which is discussed in 2.4a, are clearly reflected in
Vincent’s explanation of how the hosing market works. Underlying racist notions in society
are integrated into housing market system. Through the reducing of the market price, racist
notions are practices in “definable and manageable” way and this is “familiar and repetitive”.
As a result, segregation of immigrants and Swedes are actualized and reinforced.
The thing that should not be forgotten here is the fact that the majority of the survey
respondents have agreed that individuals from the four groups face racism and discriminations
in Swedish society, which contradicts to the popular belief that Swedes do not want to admit
that racism exist. Among the five interview respondents, Vincent was the only one who has
mentioned the word racism, recognized and explained how it is implemented in society;
however it is important to note that Swedes may be on the way of admitting and recognizing
19
Segregated area inside Malmö commune
51
Osanami 811120-7760
racism and discrimination in Swedish society. This change in the awareness needs further
attention in the future studies concerning racism.
Through the interviews it was clearly seen that media plays a certain role in
reinforcing new racism and everyday racism in Swedish society. Even Christian who has
many friends with immigrant background says that the certain images media uses can make
him feel uncomfortable in certain situation when interacting with immigrants from the four
groups. All of the respondents expressed that immigrants from Middle East is presented in
media the most. Vincent stated that he feels as if Middle Eastern people are “scapegoats” who
are pointed fingers and blamed first for causing troubles and problems when he reads
newspapers. John expressed that his picture of Middle Eastern culture is “war, fighting,
bombing, guns and weapons” and he said that this comes from the media representation. Bo
made an comment that it is natural that the result of the survey showed that respondents are
most negative towards Middle Eastern since there are so many terrorist attacks made by the
people from Middle East and the reportage about them on media.
Xenophobia or “fear of the unknown” could have affected the answer the survey
respondents gave when answering the statement “I feel comfortable passing by a group of
teenagers from the following groups during the day time”. It showed that survey respondents
feel the least comfortable if the groups of teenagers are Middle Eastern and African. South
The question is how the survey respondents would feel if the group of teenagers were Swedes.
Some interview respondents have said that if they were given an answer choice of Swedish
teenagers, they would answer the statement more positively. Bo has answered that it does not
matter if the group is Swedish or immigrants that he would feel uncomfortable anyway. Those
who have said that they would feel more comfortable if the group of teenagers were Swedes,
they expressed that what they hear from media and from other people affect how comfortable
respondents feel about passing by a group of teenagers. Vincent has explained that it is the
“statistics” that makes him uncomfortable to pass by a group of teenagers from certain groups.
Respondents have said that they would feel uncomfortable especially during the night time. It
can be understood that the reason survey respondents feel uncomfortable to pass by a group of
teenagers from the four groups is not depending so much on racism or xenophobia but rather
on stereotypes, labels and stigma the groups are entailed with.
52
Osanami 811120-7760
5.4 Stereotype, labeling and stigma
Stereotypes and labeling are involved in the construction of other. It is important to remember
that stereotypes are defined by the majority in this case ethnic Swedes, and constructed
according to how proximate immigrants are to ethnic Swedes’ values. Stereotypes therefore
seem to work positively for South East Asians and Latin Americans since they are thought to
be proximate to ethnic Swedes. On the other hand for Middle Eastern population, stereotypes
work negatively against them. Lack of personal experiences reinforces the construction of
stereotypes since stereotypes are created through lack of recognition of the signified group
and comes from an “abstract suspiciousness towards the other” (Hedetoft 1995:98).
Respondents express that Middle Eastern immigrants are violent and more apt to commit
crimes, which seems to be the common stereotype the group is embedded with.
According to the interviews, media and what people talk about play a great role in
creating the exclusive stereotypes and as a consequence, emergence of labels. Van Dijk writes
that preference in media representation can be seen in general, that for example topics on
newspapers often emphasize “their” bad actions to “our” good ones (Van Dijk 2000:38). It
seems that this preference in media representation can be seen in Sweden where Middle
Eastern populations, who are considered to be different from Swedes, are represented with
emphasis on their differences and bad actions. Interview respondents recognized that Middle
Eastern population is often talked about with negative feelings among people and presented
negatively in media. According to some interviews, the things that are talked the most about
people with Middle Eastern backgrounds are about their religion, criminality and the view of
women. These points reflect the aspects which respondents think are the difference between
Swedes and Middle Eastern population. South East Asian on the other hand, are also
represented as others in the media however because of their perceived proximity they are not
represented with their bad actions but instead with good actions. Vincent stated
“It’s like when you see the movies from America, it’s always South East Asian
people, they are very good, they struggle had and open the store but it’s the same
with the people from the Middle East. But people from South East Asia are often
polite and I think that’s the opinion that they are working hard and very polite.”
53
Osanami 811120-7760
The repeated negative talk and representation of “difference” in public and media
leads people to label that Middle Eastern are the ones who are causing trouble and not
integrating to Swedish society. Vincent for example expressed that when he heard a story
about the troubles at public places he “get the feeling that it’s teenagers from the Middle East”
who are involved. The label works perfectly against Middle Eastern population as Everett C.
Hughes’ “master and subordinate statuses”. Even though not every Middle Eastern person is
criminal or acting as the label says, as soon as one belongs to the group people have the
negative image. The first thing to be seen is that the person is Middle Eastern, and other
aspects do not protect the person from being labeled.
As a result of being stereotyped and labeled, individuals with Middle Eastern
backgrounds are being stigmatized in the Swedish society. Their visible difference works as a
tribal stigma, which reminds the ethnic Swedes that people with Middle Eastern background
is not part of “ordinal and natural”.
5.5 Perceived size of the groups
Racist and xenophobic notions can be underlying in relation to how large the immigrant
groups are perceived to be and people’s opinion on the groups. For example when I asked Bo
what he thinks about African he said
“I don’t think there are so many Africans here so I can’t say that I have a problem
with [them]”.
It can be interpreted here that Bo does not have a problem with African since they are not a
big immigrant group. Vincent said during the interview that when he hears a word
“immigrant” he gets a picture of a person with Middle Eastern background. He expressed that
when he was growing up, immigrants were from Yugoslavia, Greece and from Spain.
However since the 80s, he thinks that Middle Eastern population is the biggest immigrant
group and that is why he imagines a Middle Eastern person when he hears a word
“immigrant”. I have asked Vincent if how big the group is affects what opinion he has on the
group. He answered,
54
Osanami 811120-7760
“Yeah it does because like I said they are in the majority. I can say when they [media
or public] say immigrants this and that on the news they represent my view of
immigrants because that’s what I see the most [in Malmo]. That comes spontaneously,
I don’t think about it much. A 15 year-old kid called Mohamed is the average
immigrant in Malmö I think. So that’s my view of it. Why it is like that, I don’t know,
but they are the majority.”
As I have mentioned in 2.4b, the correlation between the perceived sizes of the groups and the
attitudes or opinion people have towards the groups have not been discussed in the sources
which discusses racism and xenophobia that I have looked into. This I believe is an interesting
point to investigate further in the future.
Interesting thing is that statistics by Migration board shows that the biggest group of
immigrants actually comes from European continent. For example, 3438 persons from Iraq
received a residence permit on various reasons in 2005, which is the largest among the
immigrants from Asian continent. Compared to the number of immigrants from Iraq,
immigrants from Germany or Poland are bigger. 4498 people immigrated to Sweden from
Germany and 5665 people from Poland in 2005 (Migrationsverket C). As presented in the
introduction, only three of the top ten countries where immigrants in Malmö come from are
Middle East and the rest are Europe. Not only Vincent but other interview respondents have
expressed also that people who have their roots in Middle East are the biggest immigrant
groups in Malmö. Interview respondents may have said this since they were presented with
only the four immigrant groups, Latin American, South East Asian, African and Middle
Eastern and among them Middle Eastern is the biggest group. However, it can also be inferred
that the people view “immigrants” to be those who are visibly different from Swedes. This
supports the idea that the color of the skin matter and European immigrants can pass as
Swedes while immigrant from other parts of the world cannot because of the visibility. This
point will be interesting to investigate further in the future.
55
Osanami 811120-7760
5.6 Expectations ethnic Swedes have towards immigrants
Respondents had some clear ideas of how the immigrants should act in Sweden, and to what
extents the individuals from the four groups are assumed to be fulfilling the ideas respondents
have seem to affect how the respondents feel about if the individuals are interested and
successful in taking part in Swedish society. Kim expressed that immigrants should be
proximate to Swedes.
“They [immigrants] will try to be as much as we are as they can and they try to live
around us, not too many of us[immigrants] here and we [Swedes] there. Feel like us
in most ways as much as they can and learn the language as soon as possible also for
themselves to get on better, to understand things better.”
Because Kim believes that Latin American and South East Asian are trying to be like Swedes,
she has positive attitudes towards the two groups. Interview with Kim clearly showed the
different perception of the other, and how this perception affects the construction of attitudes
towards different groups. Learning the language was mentioned by three out of five interview
respondents as one of the important aspects they expect immigrants to fulfill. Two respondents
have said that immigrants should be polite, not be rude and respect Swedes and be happy to be
in Sweden. One has mentioned that immigrants should become a Swedish citizen. Bo has
made a comment
“To me it’s very natural to, if I would, I lived in [country name] for a year and I
accepted the way of living there and that’s, I think, it’s the ground reason. I mean you
have to do it otherwise you have no right to be there”
Vincent has expressed that it is something obvious20 that if immigrants are planning to stay in
Sweden, they should learn the language to understand how things work in Sweden.
“They shouldn’t be rude to you, you must learn Swedish, you must do this. They
should understand this by themselves…”
He continued that he “has a feeling” that immigrants from Middle East are not doing so,
however he thought that it is hard to know if it is true or not.
20
Vincent used a Swedish word ”självklarthet”
56
Osanami 811120-7760
The ideas the interview respondents had of how immigrants in general should act in
Sweden corresponds with the prior study which presented the aspects people thought were
very important or quite important for someone to be a “real Swede”. The aspects were, as
mentioned in 4.1, for example, to be able to speak Swedish, to be a Swedish citizen and to feel
like Swedes (Nordin 2001:119). It can also be observed that the opinions respondents have of
how immigrants in general should act in Sweden are based on the division of us and other and
the idea that others should be part of us. Here again, how proximate the immigrants are
perceived to be to Swedes seems to affect the attitudes the respondents have on different
groups.
5.7 Racial groups
Vincent said that it is difficult to see if the things people talk about and the things presented in
media are true. He added that it is even more difficult to know because when he hears
statistics about these issues on news, it is about “immigrants” in one group and then he
pictures Middle Eastern people. This is why I believe it is important to look into the issues
concerning immigrants with ethnic or racial categories. By presenting all the different groups
together as “immigrants”, one group of people is subjected to being stigmatized and labeled,
while the others may be ignored with their needs or hidden from their problems. The question
is do people recognize race which is “group of people who are socially defined in a given
society as belonging together because of physical markers” and does it affect when people
construct their opinions towards the groups?
The survey result showed that respondents have different attitudes towards different
immigrant groups, and the interview result also supported that respondents perceive the
differences between the groups. Christian said in the interview, “I don’t see any difference
between people. Color of the skin doesn’t matter”. However when I asked him if there are
differences between Swedes and four immigrant groups, he had clear opinions and answers.
For example he stated that view of women and religion is “their priority” and most important
aspect in Middle Eastern people’s lives and South East Asian are “trying to fit in [to Swedish
society] as soon as possible”. These comments are quite stereotypical and reflecting the
general public views of the groups. It is necessary to keep in mind that Christian might have
57
Osanami 811120-7760
been subjected with interview effect that he tried to be polite and have given the answers that I
would like to hear, as I have discussed earlier in 3.3. However, even though Christian says
that he does not see the differences between and the color of the skin does not matter, he knew
and could express what the differences are between the groups. On this example, however, it
is hard to say if he sees the physical differences or if he sees the difference in the culture
between the groups. Clearer example that indicates the recognition of difference based the
color of the skin is found in Vincent’s words. As mentioned in 5.1, Vincent talked about how
an African person from Nigeria or Cameroon is different from a person from Somalia because
of the religion. As a response to his comment I have asked him if a reaction would be different
when a Swedish person is faced with two persons from Africa, one with Muslim and the other
with non-Muslim background. Vincent answered,
“A bit, I thinks so. But not so much as if you face with a person from Iraq and
Nigeria. Then it’s much more different.”
-How different would it be?
“You see the religion more there. If there are two African person in front of you, first
of all you think about that they are both from Africa and then you see the [religious]
difference.”
Here it can be seen that religion plays a role in constructing an opinion or attitude towards the
groups, however color or race seems to be in a master position than religion. This comment by
Vincent shows that he recognizes the differences in the color of the skin, which is the basis of
defining a socially constructed group, race.
58
Osanami 811120-7760
6. Conclusion
Result of the survey presented that survey respondents have different opinions towards
different groups. South East Asian received the most positive answers followed by Latin
American. African and Middle Eastern received answers more towards negative. Gender and
the place of living appeared to have some affect in answering some of the statements in the
survey. Contrary to the prior study showing no differences in attitudes between men and
women, this survey result showed that men answer more positively than women and the gap
between the two is big especially for Middle Eastern and African. Survey respondents living
outside Malmö have answered the survey more positively in general than respondents living
inside Malmö commune.
Interviews supported the survey result that respondents have more positive attitudes
and opinion towards some groups than the other groups. Through the interviews, it was
revealed that the difference in the attitudes towards different groups comes from various
aspects. Different ideas of us and others were seen in how respondents describe the groups.
South East Asian and Latin American had a position of proximate or exotic other while
African and Middle Eastern had a position of hostile other. This perception of other is one of
the reasons for people to have different opinions towards different groups. Racist and
xenophobic feelings seem to be also involved in the construction of opinion towards
immigrant groups. In relation to racist feelings, how large the groups are perceived to be and
how visibly different the groups are seem to have some affect on how respondents feel about
the groups. This point needs more attention in a future research. Experiences of interacting
with immigrants from the four groups also seem to affect respondents’ opinions towards the
four immigrant groups. The interview respondents who have had positive experiences or close
personal relationships with the individuals from the four groups viewed the groups with
positive attitudes in general, and where the experiences took place, abroad or in Sweden, did
not seem to matter. Those who lack experiences in interacting with immigrants from the four
groups are influenced on what the media represents. Media have certain influences over even
on those who have personal experiences. Immigrants from Middle East, according to the
interviews, are dominating the media representations with negative connotations, which lead
the respondents to have negative attitudes towards the group. Media reinforces stereotypes
59
Osanami 811120-7760
and constructs labels, which in the end stigmatize the negatively represented group and affect
respondents’ perception and opinion towards the four groups.
This study only represents the opinion of people who work in a bank office in Malmö
therefore it is not possible to draw a general conclusion on a national scale. However the
result of this research indicates how ethnic Swedes view different immigrant groups and it can
be assumed that similar result could be found even on a larger scale research. Since the
respondents of this research are white-collar workers, they are assumed to be highly educated.
This study therefore showed that even the ones who are believed to be more open minded
towards immigrants have different attitudes and opinions towards different immigrant groups.
Even with the interview effects in mind, the interview result also presented the differences in
attitudes and opinions respondents have towards the four immigrant groups clearly and it
indicated that interview respondents recognized the differences between the socially defined
groups.
Attentions and demands on studies based on racial or ethnic categories are growing
as Sweden is considering the possibilities of asking ethnicities on official documents. I believe
that the result of this study revealed an interesting point in conducting a further research on
immigrants based on racial or ethnic categories.
60
Osanami 811120-7760
Works Cited
Becker, Howard S.. “Labeling Theory” In Constructions of Deviance: Social Power, Context,
and Interaction. Ed. Patricia A. Adler and Peter Adler. Wadsworth, 2003. 70-74
Bevelander, Pieter. “The employment integration of immigrants in Sweden.” Journal of Ethnic
and Migration Studies 25.3 (1999): 445-468.
Cashmore, Ellis. Ed. Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies. London: Routledge, 2004.
Cottle, Simon. “Introduction Media Research and Ethnic Minorities: Mapping the Field” In
Ethnic Minorities and The Media: Changing Cultural Boundaries. Ed. Simon Cottle.
Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University P, 2000. 1-30.
Eriksen, Thomas Hyland. Ethnicity and Nationalism; Anthropological Perspectives.
Connecticut: Pluto P, 1993.
Essed, Philomena. Understanding Everyday Racism: An Interdiciplinary Theory. California:
Sage P, 1991
Goffman, Eriving. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. London: Penguin
Books. 1990.
Hall, Stuart. “The Spectacle of the ‘Other’.” In Representation: Cultural Representations and
Signifying Practices. Ed. Stuart Hall. London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi: Sage P,
1997. 223-290.
Hammar, Tomas. “The ‘Sweden-wide strategy’ of refugee dispersal.” In Geography and
Regufees: Patterns and Processes of Change. Ed. Richard Black and Vaughan
Robinson. London: Belhaven P, 1993. 104-117
Hedetoft, Ulf. Signs of Nations: Studies in the Political Semiotics of Self and Other in
Contemporary European Nationalism. Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing Company,
1995.
Hervik, Peter. “Anthropological perspectives on the new racism in Europe.” Ethnos. 69.2.
(2004)
http://journalsonline.tandf.co.uk.support.mah.se/media/012c8mtwll6kv4v5pn5u/cont
ributions/g/p/f/a/gpfav054tmkglapl.pdf 149-145. November, 2004.
Holme, Idar Magne & Solvang, Bernt Krohn. Forskningsmetodik om kvalitativa och
kvantitativa metoder. Lund: Lund Studentliterature, 1997.
Integrationsverket “Integrationsbarometar 2004 En rapport om allmanhetens installning till
integration, mangfald och diskriminering 2003 och 2004”
http://www.integrationsverket.se/upload/Publikationer/skrifter/intebaro2004.pdf
15 May, 2006.
61
Osanami 811120-7760
Interviews with Bo, Christian, John, Kim and Vincent. January 25th 2006.
Kalm, Sara. “Descriptive Representation: Combating Political Marginalization in Sweden?”
In Identity Dynamics and the Construction of Boundaries. Ed. Bo Petersson and Eric
Clark. Lund: Nordic Academic P, 2003. 79-97
Lundh, Christer, and Rolf Ohlsson. “Immigration and Economic Change.” In Population,
Economy and Welfare. Ed. T. Bengtsson. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1997. 108-131
Malmostad A. “Malmo 2003 Facts and Figures.”
http://www.malmo.se/download/18.33aee30d103b8f1591680003359/sg+2003+en.pdf
15 May, 2006.
Malmostad B, “Welfare for All – the Double Responsibility.”
http://www.malmo.se/download/18.33aee30d103b8f1591680006340/vfa+_engelsk.p
df 15 May, 2006
Migrationsverket A “Table 3: Residence permits 1980-2005 to Convention refugees, De facto
refugees, in need of protection and refugees by Humanitarian grounds.”
http://www.migrationsverket.se/pdffiler/statistik/tabe3.pdf 15 May, 2006
Migrationsverket B “Statistics on our activities.” http://www.migrationsverket.se/english.jsp
15 May, 2006
Miles, Robert. Racism after ‘Race Relation’. London and New York: Routledge, 1993.
Nordin, Magdalena. “Svenskarna om Sverige och svenskheten.” In Varldsbild och mening. Ed.
Carl Reinhold Brakenhielm. Bokforlaget Nya Doxa och forfattarna, 2001. 105-135.
Norman, Karin. “Equality and Exclusion: ‘Racism’ in a Swedish town.” Ethnos. 69.2. (2004)
http://journalsonline.tandf.co.uk.support.mah.se/media/012c8mtwll6kv4v5pn5u/cont
ributions/g/p/f/a/gpfav054tmkglapl.pdf 204-228. November, 2004.
Omi, Michael and Howard Winant. Racial Formation in the United States from the 1960s to
the 1990s. New York: Routledge, 1994.
Pred, Allan. Even in Sweden: Racisms, Racialized Spaces, and the Popular Geographical
Imagination. Berkley and Los Angeles: U of California P, 2000.
Punch, Keith F. Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches.
London: Sage P. 2005
Schuman, Howard, Charlotte Steeh, and Lawrence Bobo. Racial Attitudes in America: Trends
and Interpretations. Ed. James A. Davis and John Modell. Cambridge, Massachusetts
and London: Harvard University P, 1985.
“Special Report on the Nordic Countries.” The Economist 14-20 Jun. 2003. 3-16.
62
Osanami 811120-7760
Stenberg, Ewa. “Orback utreder registrering av etniska grupper.” Dagens Nyheter Jan. 28
2005.
http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1042&a=371509&previousRenderType=6
15 May, 2006.
Takaki, Ronald. “Redefining American Society: Integrating a Multicultural Perspective.” In
Race and Ethnicity. Ed. Alma M. Garcia and Richard A. Garcia. San Diego:
Greenhaven P, 2001. 51-58.
Van Dijk, Teun A. “New(s) Racism: A Discourse Analytical Apporoach” In Ethnic Minorities
and The Media: Changing Cultural Boundaries. Ed. Simon Cottle. Buckingham,
Philadelphia: Open University P, 2000. 33-49.
Waters, Mary C. “Personal Identity and Ethnicity.” In Race and Ethnicity. Ed. Alma M. Garcia
and Richard A. Garcia. San Diego: Greenhaven P, 2001. 69-71.
---. “Optional Ethnicities: For Whites Only?” In Origins and Destinies: Immigration, Race and
Ethnicity in America. Ed. Silvia Pedraza and Ruben G. Rumbaut. Belmont:
Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996. 444-454.
Wikan, Unni. Generous Betrayal: Politics of Culture in the New Europe. Chicago and
London: University of Chicago P, 2002.
Wikipedia. “Arab.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab#Who_is_an_Arab.3F 15 May, 2005
Reference
Migrationsverket C “Table 9. Residence permits to refugees, close relatives, visiting students,
adopted children and by cause of labor-market by citizenship in 2005”
http://www.migrationsverket.se/pdffiler/statistik/tabe9.pdf 15 May. 2006.
63