Recognising British Bodies: The Significance of Race and Whiteness in ‘Post-Racial’ Britain

This article examines the significance of race in how nation is articulated by white middle-classes ‘post-racial’ Britain. In doing so, it highlights centrality bodies and informal markers difference within processes national recognition reveals a normative expectation for British racialised as non-white to perform or inhabit (particular kinds of) whiteness. Bringing insights from post-race theory advocating broad conceptualisation whiteness set relational ideas codes, demonstrates that continues shape underpin dominant conceptions Britishness – middle-class Britons even they recognise people colour individually, some extent collectively, British. Since role symbolic power often overlooked discussions Britishness, makes an important contribution debates on nation, illustrating function alledgedly ‘post-race’ societies. It concludes narrow definitions allow their continued be under-estimated ultimately enable perpetuation hierarchies belonging.