Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

9-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

History

Advisor

Timothy Alborn

Advisor

Dagmar Herzog

Committee Members

Julia Sneeringer

James Cantres

Claire Langhamer

Subject Categories

Cultural History | European History | History of Gender | Other History | Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies

Keywords

Britain, race, gender, sexuality, empire, war

Abstract

The interwar period, World War II, and the Windrush era present three major turning points in the evolution of what has become known as the making of a “multiracial” Britain. During these years, British public discourse became increasingly preoccupied with relationships between Black men and white women. This discourse became global in scope and Black activists across the Anglophone world took part in shaping the narratives and meanings projected onto these relationships. By charting the shifting boundaries of racial acceptance and gendered mores, this project demonstrates the predominantly performative and extremely conditional nature of Britain’s “acceptance” of men of color. It shows how interracial relationships forced various constituencies in Britain to reinterpret their relationship to space, nation, empire, and belonging. It also explores how the perception of white British women who slept with Black men changed in ways that mirrored the changing perceptions of race in general. Interracial relationships provide the basis to explore larger questions of race, gender, and national identity in the twentieth century.

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