Marriage And Social Disapproval

Marriage and Social Disapproval

Although society has come a long way in the past 40 years (interracial marriage was illegal in the U.S. until 1967), interracial and intercultural couples still run into social disapproval today. It tends to be more subtle, but obvious to those who are experiencing it. Race/culture can be fundamental reason people experience disapproval from others You only have to look at the Turks and the Greeks, whose people have conquered each other, raped each other's women, and intermarried to a fare-thee-well these past two millenniums to see how difficult inter-racial prejudice and marriage can be. Despite very similar DNA, the two ethnic groups still can't get along.

As stated in a USA Today article, acceptance of interracial marriages and dating has not been universal. Interviews with interracial couples from around the country reveal varied challenges, and opposition has lingered in some quarters. The stresses on interracial couples can take a toll. The National Center for Health Statistics says their chances of a breakup within 10 years are 41%, compared to 31% for a couple of the same race.

Bob Jones University in South Carolina only dropped its ban on interracial dating in 2000; a year later 40% of the voters objected when Alabama became the last state to remove a no-longer-enforceable ban on interracial marriages from its constitution.

Taunts and threats, including cross burnings, still occur sporadically. In Cleveland, two white men were sentenced to prison earlier this year for harassment of an interracial couple that included spreading liquid mercury around their house.

Interracial marriage is growing steadily. From the 1960 to the 1990 Census, white - East Asian married couples increased almost tenfold, while black - white couples quadrupled. The reasons are obvious: greater integration and the decline of white racism. More subtly, interracial marriages are increasingly recognized as epitomizing what our society values most in a marriage: the triumph of true love over convenience and prudence. Nor is it surprising that white - Asian marriages outnumber black - white marriages: the social distance between whites and Asians is now far smaller than the distance between blacks and whites.

Below are examples of how others may be critical of interracial relationships.

1. Negative Stereotypes: We have all been guilty at times of buying into stereotypes. For example, many people may expect a person of Hispanic descent to drive some kind of pimped up low rider, with the base pounding. One current hot topic in the U.S. is immigration. If dating an immigrant to the U.S., people may ask about their Green Card (with the assumption being this person is only in the relationship to become a legalized citizen).

As cited in "Is Love Colorblind" an example of stereotyping , and probably the most disastrous mistake Marcia Clark made in prosecuting O. J. Simpson was to complacently allow Johnny Cochran to pack the jury with black women. As a feminist, Mrs. Clark smugly assumed that all female jurors would identify with Nicole Simpson. She ignored pretrial research indicating that black women tended to see poor Nicole as The Enemy, one of those beautiful blondes who steal successful black men from their black first wives, and deserve whatever they get.

Media stereotypes are sometimes often the cause of negative feelings are views. . TV constantly shows black men slam-dunking, while it seems the only way an Asian man can get some coverage is to discover a cure for AIDS. Yet try channel-surfing for minority women. You'll see black women dancing, singing, joking, and romancing. If, however, you even see an Asian woman, she'll probably be newscasting -- not the most alluring of roles.

As cited in Mr. Kenney's Article on counseling interracial couples, many of these myths and stereotypes suggest that those who intermarry have ulterior motives for doing so (Wardle, 1992). These motives include a desire to experiment with the exotic, sexual curiosity and promiscuity, a quest for economic and social status or achievement, domination, inability to attract a member of one's own race, potential citizenship, rebellion against family or society, low self-esteem, and racial self-hatred (Frankenburg, 1993; Root, 1992; Rosenblatt, Karis, & Powell, 1995; Spickard, 1989). Other myths have implied that persons of color are more willing to accept children of interracial unions than Whites are (Wardle, 1992) and that the difficulties faced by interracial individuals and families are based upon race (Wehrly, 1996).

2. Racism/Prejudice: Racism can be defined as a belief or ideology that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially to distinguish it as being either superior or inferior to another race or races (Oxford English Dictionary).

Prejudice is a product of racism, and can be defined as: Interpersonal hostility that is directed against individuals based on their membership in a minority group.

There are volumes of things that could be said about prejudice and racism. Society has come a long way in the past 40 years. Aside from some fanatical racial supremacy groups out there, prejudice is still alive but not the same way it used to be. It is very rare to hear anybody openly admit that they consider themselves superior over another race. Racism these days is much more discreet and sometimes hard to identify as such. It also appears that older generations tend to have more racist attitudes toward minorities than younger generations. This can be seen in comments such as "The world was a much different place when we were growing up." This reflects their attitudes toward people of other races, cultures, etc. Sometimes their attitudes change with time, but sometimes they do not. A recent Gallop poll determined that Americans aged 50 and older -- including whites, blacks, and