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Interracial marriages and its effects on society
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Interracial marriage also known as mixed marriage, miscegenation, exogamy, and multiracial, is a marriage between members of different races. It was just 44 years ago that interracial marriage was made fully legal throughout the United States, and it is becoming more common for members to marry outside of ones’ own race. The growth of interracial marriages in the United States corresponds with changes in the legal status of interracial marriages and what some would consider, little, but some changing of arrogance among Americans towards persons in interracial relationships. “Recent increases in interracial unions with Whites presumably reflect positive changes in American race relations as well as the blurring of racial boundaries and racial and ethnic identities” (Batson et al., 2006). The United States 2000 Census Bureau data reports an increase of interracial marriages which contained approximately five percent of all marriages in the Unites States (Forry, 2007). Among the misconception’s relating to interracial relationships people tend to think that the relationship is less successful because of the race difference. However, the true reason behind interracial marriage and relationships being unsuccessful is the lack of communication and clarification of each other’s cultural, and ethnic differences, this can cause a negative impact on the relationship. Notice there was no mention of the relationship being less successful than same-race marriage because lack of and or insufficient communication affects all types of relationships, not just interracial relationships. Many factors are attributed to conflicts among interracial couples. Nevertheless, there are positives aspects of interracial marriage and other ways to make the rel...
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Rodríguez García, D. (2006). Mixed marriages and transnational families in the intercultural context. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies 32(3), 403-433. doi:10.1080/13691830600555186
Troy, B. A., Lewis-Smith,J., & Laurenceau, J. (2006). Interracial and intraracial romantic relationships: The search for differences in satisfaction, conflict, and attachment style. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 23(1), 65-80. doi: 10.1177/0265407506060178
Wong, M. G. (2009). Strengthening connections in interracial marriages through pre-marital inventories: A critical literature review. Contemporary Family Therapy: International Journal, 31(4), 251-261. doi:10.1007/s10591-009-9099-1
Zhang, Y., & Hook, V. J. (2009). Marital dissolution among interracial couples. Journal of Marriage & Family, 71(1), 95-107. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00582.x
Hud-Aleem, Raushanah, and Jacqueline Countryman. "Biracial Identity Development and Recommendations in Therapy." Psychiatry (Edgmont). Matrix Medical Communications. Web. 09 Mar. 2016.
Luther, Catherine A. and Jodi L. Rightler-McDaniels. ““More Trouble than the Good Lord Ever Intended”: Representations of Interracial Marriage in U.S. News-Oriented Magazines.” Journal of Magazine & New Media Research. 14:1. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Race and ethnicity is a main factor in the way we identify others and ourselves. The real question here is does race/ethnicity still matter in the U.S.? For some groups race is not a factor that affects them greatly and for others it is a constant occurrence in their mind. But how do people of mix race reacts to this concept, do they feel greatly affected by their race? This is the question we will answer throughout the paper. I will first examine the battle of interracial relationship throughout history and explain how the history greatly explains the importance of being multiracial today. This includes the backlash and cruelty towards interracial couple and their multiracial children. Being part of a multiracial group still contains its impact in today’s society; therefore race still remaining to matter to this group in the U.S. People who place themselves in this category are constantly conflicted with more than one cultural backgrounds and often have difficulty to be accepted.
Marriage, as an institution, has evolved in the last few decades. As society progresses, the ideas and attitudes about marriage have shifted. Today, individuals are able to choose their partners and are more likely marry for love than convenience. While individuals are guaranteed the right to marry and the freedom to choose their own partners, it has not always been this way. Starting from colonial times up until the late 1960’s, the law in several states prohibited interracial marriages and unions. Fortunately, in 1967, a landmark case deemed such laws as unconstitutional. Currently, as society progresses, racism and social prejudice have decreased and interracial marriages have become, not only legal, but also widely accepted.
Many would agree that segregation is no longer a pressing issue. Although it has been outlawed since 1954, society still implements a similar mindset, especially directed towards interracial dating. Some still believe that people of different races should not form relationships, while others deem it as acceptable. The following researchers use methods like surveys and interviews to analyze the connections between societal judgment and involvement in such relationships. Each study, providing slightly more insight than the previous, suggests the fear of social conflict creates skepticism towards mixed relations.
Interracial marriage is a union between two people from different racial backgrounds. Over the past decades, interracial marriage has been on the rise and has predominantly become popular among recent generations. Interracial marriages, despites the challenges it faced in the early centuries due to slavery and racial segregations is now common across many cultures. Since the abolishment of laws banning interracial marriages in the late 1960’s, society has embraced interracial marriage disregarding racial and cultural differences in the process. Several researchers have attributed the growing trends of interracial unions to immigration. While there is popular support for the growing trend of interracial marriage, it is imperative to consider whether becoming a multicultural society has impacted interracial marriages. This paper will place much emphasis on the growing trends and patterns of interracial unions in America. In addition, more emphasis will be placed on marital satisfaction in interracial unions and finally societal attitudes towards interracial couples.
Sollors, Werner. I Interracialism: Black-White Intermarriage in American History, Literature, and Law. New York: University Press, 2000.
New York Times. "Arranged Marriages.(Home Desk)(Letter to the editor)." Global Issues in Context 18 May 1995: n. pag. Regina Caothlic Schools-Resources Online. Web. 1 Sept. 2014.
Willimon, William H. "Interfaith Marriage: A Reality Check." Christian Century 130.11 (2013): 30-32. OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
All these perspectives suggested in this paper suggest that interracial relationships have their challenges, but what might surprise people is that these challenges are actually a beautiful transformative gifts that in their wake can open our eyes.
Black, Lisa. “Arranged – not forced – marriages a good match in many cultures.” Chicago
Throughout time interracial couples have had to endure many obstacles that has made it hard for them to live comfortably within our country. America’s history of slavery and racism has made it hard for people to accept interracial marriage. Over time it is shown that as a country the overall acceptance of interracial marriage has progressed. The Union itself has helped to put an end to prejudices between races within this country that has really plagued our society for so long. Today we can see that interracial relationships are changing people’s view on other races by getting a firsthand look into their lives. Interracial marriages are greatly affected by families and whether they accept or reject the union. In the article “Understanding the
Works Cited Romano, D. (1997). The 'Secondary'. Intercultural marriage: Promises and pitfalls (2nd ed.). Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. Ho, M. K. (1990).
Caroline Hwang made the point in her essay "The Good Daughter" that as a first generation American her parents expected her to marry a Korean man. Hwang decided to only date the non-Korean men which she knew she could "stay clearheaded about” so she could fulfill her parent’s wishes and bear children that looked Korean.
Djamba and Sitawa (2014) stated that they approached this study through three sociological perspectives that they considered were important and suitable when researching interracial marriage; these three sociological perspectives are status-caste exchange, traditional assimilation, and cultural pluralism (530). They hypothesize that compared to white males, black women are more likely to be open to interracial marriage; younger individuals are more open to interracial marriage than their older counterpart; individuals who have a higher education are more likely to be in favor of interracial marriage than those who are less educated; and individuals with conservative political views are more likely to be opposed than those who have more liberal views (Djamba and Sitawa 2014:530-31).