I'm generally just a White European mutt: Communication strategies for interpreting and sharing DNA-based ancestry test results

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) DNA tests that trace ancestral heritage are a popular way for U.S. Americans to discover information about their ethnic history. To address this phenomenon, we analyze interviews with 32 test-takers, examining the role of DTC DNA testing in the ongoing communicative construction and negotiation of ethnic identity. Our thematic analysis revealed four communicative strategies enacted by participants as they made sense of their results: (dis)trusting science, quantifying ethnic ancestry, using jokes and humor, and evoking Americanism. We demonstrate how participants' strategic communication functions to (re)inscribe societal discourses related to ethnicity, race, and racism, including discourses around homogeneity, Americanism, whiteness, and the geneticization of ethnicity.

Automated summary

This study analyzes interviews with 32 test-takers of DTC DNA tests to examine the role of these tests in the construction and negotiation of ethnic identity. The study reveals four communicative strategies used by participants to make sense of their test results. The findings demonstrate how strategic communication reinforces societal discourses related to ethnicity, race, and racism.