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Lourdes Chami

Dr. Ellen Frye

LANG3400

November 30, 2017

Interracial Marriages

As the world evolves, society changes and the world seem to get smaller. Today,

there are more opportunities for people to connect with each other. It is so much easier to

travel. People travel for many reasons, for fun, for job related issues, or for education,

which results in meeting new people, creating new friendships in which many end up

marrying. The great evolution of technology has opened many windows making it

possible to meet and talk with people from different parts of the world with different

cultures. Moreover, the migration of people to and from different countries, works as

bridges that unite people from different races and cultures. Due to such factors, interracial

marriage is more certain to happen. Encyclopedia.com defines interracial marriage as the

marriage that takes place between people who come from two different racial or ethnic

groups. Marrying someone from a different culture implies many positive and negative

outcomes. While interracial marriage can promote cultural diversity, these couples might

also face difficulties such as discrimination and cultural differences that can lead to the

end of the marriage.

To marry someone from a different race was completely illegal in the United

States until 1967. According to pewresearch.org, The Supreme Court ruled in the case

Loving v. Virginia that marriage across racial lines was legal across the country. The

case Loving v. Virginia, consisted of a white man and a black woman, Richard and
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Midred Loving, who got married in Washington D. C. when they returned to their

hometown, Virginia, they got arrested, but the Supreme Court struck down Virginias law

prohibiting interracial marriages as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment

(Encyclopediavirginia.org). Since then, Interracial marriages has increased, and

according to Bialik, from the Pew Research Center, one-in-six U.S. newlyweds (17%)

were married to a person of a different race or ethnicity in 2015, a more than fivefold

increase from 3% in 1967. Among all married people in 2015 (not just those who recently

wed), 10% are now intermarried 11 million in total (Pewresearch.org). In addition,

Bialik also mentions Asian and Hispanic newlyweds are the most likely to be

intermarried. Nearly three-in-ten Asian newlyweds (29%) were married to someone of a

different race or ethnicity in 2015, as were 27% of Hispanic newlyweds (Bialik 2). That

is to say that the most common interracial marriages occur between Hispanics and whites,

and between Asians and whites.

When interracial marriage occurs, two cultures are blending in. These people are

sharing their values and beliefs and in many cases, couples learn to integrate, meaning

that, both partners might embrace aspects of the culture of the other without loosing their

own culture.

But, what happens when a child is born? What culture should be thought to this

child? This decision will definitely shape the childs identity. Le Gall and Meintel present

a study conducted in Quebec. The study consisted of eighty mixed couples between 25

and 40 years old with at least one child. The participants were couples of mixed unions;

some were originally from Quebec married to a new immigrant, others were born in

Quebec of different ethnic minority backgrounds (117). The couples were interviewed
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with regards to their children and what strategies were used. Le Gall and Meintel mention

that the couples in their study cared a lot about their childs ethnic identity, and did not

imparted on the mothers work for early childhood socialization (117). Furthermore, most

couples admitted having discussed and negotiated between them on issues regarding

language and religion early in their relationship before the child was born. For language

transmission, parents used the approach known as one person, one language: (OPOL)

which consists of each parent speaking to the child in his/hers mother tongue. (Le Gall

and Meintel 121). These parents admitted the importance of teaching their children their

mother tongue even though their spouse did not master the language. Being able to

communicate with other members of the family such the grandparents was very important

for the Quebecois couple. In addition, Le Gall states The international status of a

language seemed to influence its transmission, even when it was not spoken in circles

frequented by the parents (Le Gall and Meintel 122). This means that if a language was

considered internationally important, it make it more valuable to be reinforced.

The OPOL method is used in many other countries and among mixed couples in

order to be able to teach the children the parents mother tongue. Interracial marriages

promote cultural diversity because it results and creates children who are bilingual or

trilingual and bicultural. It is important to understand that in todays society, speaking

more than one language opens many doors in the job market. Teaching our children our

mother tongue, does not only enriches their culture and knowledge about the world but it

is also gives them one of the keys to success.

In addition, the research also reflected Parents strategies are typically oriented toward

maximizing the choices of the children instead of orienting them. (Le Gall and Meintel
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124). Moreover, the author of the research also states that the values put forward by the

parents were more about pluralism; parents teach their children tolerance, openness and

respect for others (124). Interracial marriages leads to a new generation that is more open

to other cultures and beliefs, creating children that can easily adapt to a growing and

multicultural society. It is important to mention that when society is more open to other

cultures, the result is less racism.

It has been discussed the positive outcomes of interracial marriages, but, not

always everything is perfect. These types of relationships may also face lots of

challenges, difficulties and even discrimination. McFadden and Moore, state Marriage

across racial lines is often perceived negatively by family, friends, and the community

(McFadden and Moore 265). This could be because of the cultural differences between

the two races. For instance, most parents of Arabic cultures, especially in Muslim religion

prefer their sons or daughters to marry people from their country and with the same

religion, because this way culture endures. When this tradition is broken, couples face lot

of family related problems. Family and the people that surrounds a person many times

influences in the daily lives of couples if the relationship is weak. Couples in interracial

marriage should have a strong base and bond that can surpass the critics and opinions of

those around them. There can also be traditions and cultural issues, for instance; for most

middle eastern, the woman is the one in charge of all the household chores and the care

and moral education of the children. If the child grows and gets into bad habits, blame

falls mostly on the mother. The wife should be home when the husband arrives from

work and the food should be served on the table by the time the husband comes for

dinner. It is hard for the relationship to survive if the couple does not have an open mind,
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a more modern way of thinking, and they both need to agree on issues that seem so

simple but that are important.

Another implication in interracial marriages is of racial identity. This means that

individuals social identities and self-concept might be affected. For instance, in her

article, Afful and colleagues, describe that white partners in these marriages, may be

more cognizant of their race and even classified as less White when seen in public with

their black partner. And black partners may be reclassified as less Black when with

their interracial partners. Furthermore, the author also states that interracial partners may

have some instability of how they view themselves and how they define themselves

based on societys expectations. (Afful et al. 668). In other words, Afful and colleagues

are saying that partners in this type of relationship may feel a loss of personal identity;

some may have to comply with the partners traditions or ways of living. This as well

will affect their social identity, many times is necessary to comply with the expectations

of those around the relationship, meaning close family members and the community.

Marriage is not only a personal relationship, but also a social institution. There are

personal and public aspects. Personal aspects may include personal commitment and

emotional aspects while the public aspects may include ethnicity and religion. The world

is composed of thousands of ethnicity and religious groups divided into their own

frontiers and when individuals cross this line, they raise issues for the group they belong

to. As Afful and colleagues, make relevant the theory of personal and social identity,

Clulow also makes a statement describing that Failure to conform with the identity of

the group might result in withdrawal of social and economic support, discrimination and,

in extreme cases, physical attack. (Clulow 84).

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Several of the authors already mentioned have encountered on their research the

same or similar difficulties that partners in interracial marriages are faced to. It is true that

community plays a very important role in the well being of a relationship but so does

commitment and communication among partners.

In the article: Intercultural marriage and intimacy: Beyond the continental divide,

the authors, McFadden and Moore, describe two interesting solutions for problems

present in dual-culture marriage. The two solutions are identified as symmetric and

asymmetric. Symmetric solutions is when one partner decides to give up his/her culture

and adopts that of the other, while asymmetric solutions are ones in which partners by a

dialectic process produce a synthetic new culture (Mcfadden and Moore 265). There are

many cases in which these solutions are seen. Again, referring to religion, I have seen

cases in which one of the partners, the woman, gave up her religion, traditions, and

customs and turned into her husbands religion. This case is not only an example of the

symmetric solution encountered in the research mentioned above but it is also an example

of a loss of personal identity. Clulow mentioned that in a study made to Iraqi men

married to non-Arab mainly European wives indicated the likelihood of the women being

the ones converting to the Muslim religion (83). Even though reducing these social

differences to facilitate the marriage, wives were still in conflict with their social

environment (Clulow 83). On the other hand, in the asymmetric solution, both partners

negotiate as in the case of the Quebecois couples, how they will manage the situation,

ending up mixing elements of both cultures, resulting in a new one.

Based on the research of McFadden and Moore, partners of mixed couples go through

stages of acceptance in their marriage. Couples are subject to individual, family, and
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societal acceptance (266). Under these aspects, McFadden and Moore have placed

several concepts, which define the layers of acceptance. For instance: conflict, mores and

values falls into the layer of society. Liberation, acculturation, and discrimination fall

under the layer of individual, and respect, acceptance, resistance, and rejection under the

layer of family (267). The authors have put into stages several concepts describing the

process that mixed couples go through during their marriage.

In addition, McFadden and Moore, also present several traits for interracial couples that

help maintain a positive relationship. Among these are:

Respecting the human qualities that bond individuals

Communicating openly, honestly, and congruently

Understanding and appreciating their own cultural backgrounds (McFadden and

Moore 267).

Interracial marriages have their positive and negative aspects. Marrying someone

from a different culture and ethnic group is a reflection of acceptance of diversity in

todays world. The truth is that as time passes, the world will continue to get smaller in

the sense of blending in and people connecting with each other. New generations will

probably cross the cultural frontiers resulting in more and more interracial marriages that

will produce children more open to cultures and diversity. The negative part of interracial

marriage will always be there because religion and race will always exist. And as

mentioned before, marriage is not only a personal relationship but also a social

institution. People will always get involved and families will always be there.

Maintaining ones own personal identity, respecting and committing to each other helps in
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the survival of interracial marriages. In order for these relationships to succeed, couples

need to learn to manage differences that communities are not able to manage.
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Works Cited

Afful E. Stephanie. Wohlford Corinne. & Stoeting Suzanne M. Beyond

Difference: Examining the Process and Flexibility of Racial Identity in

Interracial Marriages Journal of Social. vol. 71, no. 4, December 2015. pp 659 -

674 doi: 10.1111/josi.12142

Bialik, Kristein. Key facts about race and marriage, 50 years after Loving v. Virginia

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/06/12/key-facts-about-race-and-

marriage-50-years-after-loving-v-virginia/

Clulow, Christopher. Marriage across frontiers: National, ethnic and religious

differences in partnership Sexual and Marital Therapy, vol 8:1, December 14 2007.

pp 81-87. doi: 10.1080/02674659308404503

Le Gall, Josiane. & Meintel, Deirdre. Cultural and Identity Transmission in Mixed

Couples in Quebec, Canada: Normalizing Plural Identities as a Path to Social

Integration The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,

vol 662, issue 1, October 11, 2015, pp. 112-128. doi.org/10.1177/0002716215602705

Mcfadden, J. & Moore, J.L. Intercultural marriage and intimacy: Beyond the

continental divide International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling

(2001) 23: 261. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014420107362

Newbelk, Phyl and Wolfe Brendan. Loving v. Virginia (1967)

https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Loving_v_Virginia_1967
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