Symbolische Grenzen und die Grenzarbeit von Migrantinnen und Migranten

Abstract

In referring to the literature on symbolic boundary marking and stigmatization and based on an analysis of eleven group discussions including 55 migrants stemming from many different countries we reconstruct immigrants' experiences with their first names in Germany and their strategies of boundary marking and stigma management. The results show that all the participants are very much aware of the fact that first names function as an important marker of symbolic and social boundaries between the majority society and immigrant minorities. At the same time, the interviewees differ regarding the way they react to the boundaries experienced. Four types of boundary work can be distinguished-each with its own specific basic orientations. Border crossing (I), border blurring (II), border transvaluation (III), and boundary irrelevance and in-group orientation (IV). We describe each type extensively with reference to the theoretical literature.