Interracial Relationship Essay

Introduction When my sister decided to partake in an interracial relationship she was met with mixed feelings from various family members. While most did not care or voice their opinion on the matter my mother and grandfather (who for all intents and purposes serves as a father figure) were not supportive of the relationship. The relationship was unique and met with criticism for many reasons. However, I will only address what I perceived to be the most common issues. The first issue is dual dealing with both age and success. At the beginning of the relationship my sister was 23 and her then boyfriend was 30. Both my mother and my grandfather associated age with success. While my sister seemed to be on the right path to success, her

This factor plays a significant part in the issues that my grandfather, a once sharecropper who has managed to make a very successful life for himself despite the odds, had with the relationship. As the literature is reviewed it will be shown that these main problems that characterized my sister’s relationship appear to not only take place in my family’s situation but also in most families where there is an interracial relationship. Literature Review There are very clear connections between gender and resources. Typically, males make more money than females and have more access to anything that is necessary for them to succeed. This connection between gender and resources is reflected in the Social Structural Theory (SST) which states that men and women hold different roles because that is what they are expected to do socially but also because it benefits them as individuals (Miller 2004). A man is expected to make more money and be successful and a woman, while she may be able to work, is typically expected to fulfill the caregiver role. As far as relationships date back, it has been a common occurrence for the male to have resources to provide to not only to his significant other, but also to her family. Typically a man was expected to pay a

As stated earlier we live in a very individualistic society and people are often encouraged to do what is best for them. However, this does not apply to interracial relationships. For many, parental approval plays a huge role in interracial relationships. Those who do tend to disapprove of interracial relationships are older and don’t have a strong religious connection. In a study done on college student’s thoughts on interracial relationships, most of the students stated that their parents would disapprove of the relationship no matter the race, age, or gender (Fields 2013). In this same study males thought that their parents would have a higher level of approval of their interracial relationship than females did (Fields 2013). The fact that females experience more disapproval in interracial relationships is not surprising because as stated earlier it is historically expected for parents to have parental control over their daughters’ relationships. Interviews I selected my mother and grandfather for the interview because they had the strongest opinions and reactions to this family event and because they are both parental figures in my sister’s life. Based on the interview I found that for my mother class and not race was the main