Hawker space raced : racialisation and ethnicisation in the Singapore hawker centre

Abstract

Singapore society has existed with the racial classification model of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others (CMIO), since her independence in 1965. Most of Singapore society today, has taken this mode of categorisation as a normal perspective of viewing race and racial identity in Singapore. This research aims to highlight racialization of Singapore society as an active social process that has downplayed the diversity of race, and ethnicity in Singapore. With food as an indicator of culture, this research places the dishes back in the context of where it is served, the Hawker Centre, and aims to reveal the negotiation of racial identity within this space. Food might show the diversity of race in Singapore, but the racialization process fits this diversity into rigid categories, reproducing the racialised structures in Singapore society.