Being mixed Emirati in the UAE: "Too Arab for the Westerners, too Westerner for the Arabs"

This study focuses on an indigenous population of the United Arab Emirates, commonly referred to as "half-Emiratis" in the common language and "mixed Emiratis" in an academic sociological context. Mixed Emiratis are the descendants of a mixed union composed of an Emirati parent and a non-Emirati parent. As a result of the multicultural context in which they grow up, their trajectories are often represented by interesting differences. These differences are sometimes judged or even stigmatized within the Emirati community or the extended family in question. These differences are also the result of an appealing open-mindedness in contrast to traditional Emirati families, who are sometimes more conservative. Through thirteen interviews with mixed Emirati individuals, who are children of an Emirati parent and a parent from another region of the world, this study traces how they grew up in order to understand how they perceive themselves within the Emirati local society today. Through the role of their parents, their extended family, their peers, and the social context in which they live, this study examines the complex way in which they define themselves in a society deeply rooted in its traditions and conservative values. We will see that while some feel totally Emirati, the vast majority feel that they belong to both cultures and build their lives on these two cultures, representing themselves as unique, while others feel more in tune with the society of their non-Emirati parent.