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Portrait Henriette Frees Esholt.

Henriette Frees Esholdt

Researcher

Portrait Henriette Frees Esholt.

Virgins, Terrorists, and Ten Children : Immigrants' Humorous Play with Ethnic Stereotypes in Bonding with Danes in the Workplace

Author

  • Henriette Frees Esholdt

Summary, in English

Drawing on fieldwork in a multi-ethnic workplace (an industrial kitchen in Denmark), this article explores immigrants' self-directed ethnic humor in collegial relationships with Danes as it spontaneously develops and plays out in everyday work settings. Approaching ethnic humor from a symbolic interactionist perspective rather than adopting the dominant conflict approach, this article emphasizes the bonding functions of ethnic humor. The article argues that immigrants' engagement in playful behavior with ethnic stereotypes in interactions with Danes is a form of “impression management” in which they defuse ethnic stereotypes and dissociate themselves from them by building joking relationships in the workplace with Danes. A video abstract is available at https://tinyurl.com/esholdt.

Department/s

  • Sociology

Publishing year

2019-04-14

Language

English

Pages

691-716

Publication/Series

Symbolic Interaction

Volume

42

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

University of California Press

Topic

  • Social Psychology

Keywords

  • ethnic humor
  • ethnic stereotype
  • impression management
  • joking relationship
  • spontaneous humor in interaction

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0195-6086