Predictors of Interracial Dating and Marriage Essay

Interracial relationships and marriages have long been in existence. It was an inevitable outcome of the migration of various other races to the United States since the time of the Mayflower. Such relationships have weathered the height of social discrimination way back during the human rights movements of the sixties and have evolved from the shadows to the forefront of today’s open and well-balanced relationships between a man and a woman. In the United States, it has always been people from the same social class or those financially equal who end up marrying, it is not necessarily out of love. These parings are usually done in order to preserve a certain social order and it works just fine most of the time. It becomes socially unacceptable therefore for someone of a lower or more inferior social position to â€Å"marry up† and make things unpleasant for the couple because their families and friends often get involved and make dating a living hell for the couple. My researches for this paper have proven to me that skin color has never been an issue for any of the interracial couple. Skin color and race have no bearing on their common interests, goals, ambitions, and beliefs in life. The aforementioned are the key predictors in whether their relationship will work or not and for how long in any normal relationship. Even though such relationships have to usually struggle for acceptance in society, the couples involved do not even notice it anymore because to them, they are simply normal human beings in love with one another. Although interracial couplings made up only 2. 9 percent of marriages since 2002 according to the United States Census Bureau, these marriages seem to last longer and seem to be very widely discussed amongst local populations. It is my opinion that 2 social norms, beliefs and traditions most often dictate who we should have a relationship with and eventually end up starting a family with, these very norms are also the reason why such traditional hook-ups fail. In the case of a relationship, the difference in race, traditions, and beliefs work to keep the pairing interesting since it becomes a learning experience for both parties. A marriage is a union of two souls that become one. It is also a life long learning experience for the spouses as they learn about their varied traditions and beliefs and work with each other towards making those clashing beliefs gel and work towards solidifying the union. The people of the 21st century have seemingly decided to turn a blind eye towards interracial couplings. This may be because the United States has become a melting pot for not only the African- Americans, but for the Asians and Hispanics as well. The greater predictor of whom one will most likely choose to love and marry is no longer based on social norms but on personal preferences regardless of skin color, race, and social standing. An estimated 46. 3 million Americans, with ages ranging from 14-24 compose the Millennial Generation, who no longer believe that race is an issue. Instead they set out looking for others who share common perspectives and interests with them. The modern relationships they are involved in are based in multi-cultural diversity and inclusions. Television programs such as Grey’s Anatomy further help to erase the great racial divide as they provide story lines with interracial couplings, such as the Korean Christina Yang and her immediate superior Preston Burke, who happens to be an African-American. Though different as night and day, their relationship simply works, and never 3 was their culture, race, or skin color called into question by their friends, relatives, and co-workers. Instead, they have had to struggle to make their relationship work because of their personal, not racial, differences; the fact that they are an interracial couple makes them interesting to get to know. In an effort to become a politically correct nation, we have become a race of people suffering from â€Å"color-mute syndrome†. It teaches us not to be a racist person by acknowledging a person’s color or race. We are all becoming involved in the process of learning to choose our friends, lovers, and companion solely on the basis of common ground. Race is no longer an issue these days. It is no longer a make or break factor in relationships because we have learned to see beyond color and race, and all the way into a person’s heart and soul. We no longer judge a person by his skin color. A man no longer carries a stigma because of belonging to a certain race or skin color. There are no longer limitations as to who you can be and whom you can be with. Karina Anglada, a 17-year-old High School senior in Chicago who hails from Puerto Rican roots says, † It goes beyond that to whom you get along with. † That in my own personal opinion, is the greater predictor of whom you might choose to love and marry regardless of social indicators. Works Cited: Sharon Jayson. February 8, 2006. New Generation Doesn’t Blink at Interracial Relationships. USA TODAY. February 8, 2006. Retrieved December 30, 2006 from http://www. usatoday. com/news/nation/2006-02-07-colorblind_x. htm Mary Ann Albright. Love Sees No Color. Corvallis Gazette-Times. December 11, 2004. Retrieved January 2, 2007 from http://www. gazettetimes. com/articles/2004/12/12/news/top_story/sunloc01. txt