BAME: A report on the use of the term and responses to it - Terminology Review for the BBC and Creative Industries

Ryder, Marcus and Malik, Sarita and Marsden, Stevie and Lawson, Robert and Gee, Matt (2021) BAME: A report on the use of the term and responses to it - Terminology Review for the BBC and Creative Industries. Project Report. Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

The use of the term BAME, an acronym used to refer to people from ‘Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic’ backgrounds, has become widespread in the UK in recent years. From government reports, advocacy groups and journalistic reportage, BAME has become a catch-all moniker, interchangeably used as both a noun and adjective to signify, or “represent”, a heterogeneous band of people who do not identify as White when describing their identities, cultures, and experiences.

Despite this wide spread usage,the term has garnered significant criticism from the very people it seeks to describe. With some people viewing it as an annoying “necessary evil”, to others seeing it as an insult that should never be used. A major concern, apparent in recent public responses to BAME, is that it homogenises culturally distinct social groups.
Our aim in this report is to address the current, existing tensions around the use of BAME and ethnicity-related terminology in the creative industries as part of our broader work, research-based and vocational, to action change in the sector. The report makes a critical intervention in current debates, and hopes to drive forward a more thoughtful approach to how language about, and for, diverse communities is used in the future.

Item Type:	Monograph (Project Report)
Dates:	Date Event 1 August 2021 Published
Subjects:	CAH19 - language and area studies > CAH19-01 - English studies > CAH19-01-06 - others in English studies
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts, Design and Media > College of English and Media
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2023 16:39
Last Modified:	11 Jun 2024 12:08
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/14959

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