introduction - the university of north carolina at …ldpearce/soci30/group project/group7.doc ·...

Faucette, Hunt, Jack, Thompson, Tuttle

INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE

Introduction

Ideas about marriage in the United States have been evolving since the first

settlers. While the value placed on marriage has stayed relatively stable, attitudes about

when to marry, who to marry, and reasons for marriage have shifted with the changing

cultural norms. The modern idea of marriage reflects the importance America places on

autonomy. There is a strong emphasis on being able to choose your own spouse, which

places a lot of importance on dating and falling in love before marriage. The result of

building these emotional bonds is a more companionate marriage. While it seems that

Americans have a great deal of freedom when it comes to marriage decisions, the

structure of society and many cultural norms related to social upbringing place limits on

the extent to which a person’s personal agency can be exercised. The purpose of this

study is to look at one aspect of marriage and to examine how structure and cultural

norms have hindered or supported an individual’s agency in that aspect. The aspect of

marriage that is being studied is interracial marriage. Structure, or the way society is

organized, plays a big role in whether or not a person can or will choose to marry

interracially. Some people may be constrained because of the control of their parents, the

demographics of their community, the power of their racial group, and even the power of

the government. For example, until the 1960’s it was illegal for whites to intermarry with

African-Americans. There are also socialized cultural norms that can inhibit a person’s

marital agency. Religious beliefs, as well as ethnic and racial stereotypes are two

examples that show how culture can influence a decision to marry interracially.


Theory/Literature Review

Due to the high level interest on the topic of interracial relationships in recent

decades, there have been many sociological studies done to learn more about it.

Researchers have been interested in finding out what factors are correlated with incidence

of interracial relationships. More specifically, studies have focused on pinpointing

patterns that may exist regarding who is dating/marrying outside of their own ethnicity,

and what factors may be influencing people’s decisions to start and maintain interracial

relationships.

There were several themes that we discovered while scouring research that had

already been conducted on the topic of interracial marriage and relationships. These

themes include: race, gender, education, economic status, and diversity in social

networks. Diversity in social networks is broken down by strong ties and weak ties in

order to make the distinction between diversity in close friendships and diversity of

neighborhood and acquaintances. These themes will be presented by topic questions that

researchers attempted to answer on each theme.

Race was a theme that was heavily examined in order to determine its correlation

with acceptability and frequency of interracial romantic relationships. Is there a

particular race that is in general more opposed to or more supportive of interracial dating

and marriage? Current literature would suggest that racial marriage hinges on relative

population of each racial group and their opportunities to have social contact. Because

whites are more numerous than other groups in the United States, most interracial

marriages take place between one white person and a member of another race (Qian).

This study also reveals that a racial minority has a greater chance of marrying outside of


their race if the population of their specific group is very low. Other studies revealed that

acceptability of interracial relationships and marriage varied as a function of which race

was being interviewed, and which race they were being asked about. For example,

Caucasian respondents favored dating Orientals over blacks for themselves as well as for

others (Barnett). This same study also revealed that respondents tended to have more

favorable attitudes toward interracial dating among others, rather than experiencing it

personally.

Gender was a theme that, along with race, surfaced throughout the literature we

dredged up. One researcher, S. Zebrowski, was interested in the research done by Paset

and Taylor in 1991, and Rosenblatt in 1995, which suggested that black women and

white men are perceived to be the most opposed to interracial marriage. Zebroski was

especially interested in the chance that gender played a role in one’s perception (support

or opposition) of interracial marriage. The two questions that drove her research were:

1) Do the members of interracial marriages perceive racial/gender differences between

supporters and opponents of their relationship? 2) Do these differences depend on the

racial/gender composition of the intermarried couple? In the analysis, Zebroski found

when based on four racial/gender categories of respondents, a pattern appeared that

suggested respondents felt that people who were of the same gender and race as

themselves or their spouse tended to be most supportive of their relationship during these

casual interactions. Respondents also felt that people who were of the same race but

opposite gender tended to be most opposed to their relationship during casual

interactions. Zebroski felt a basic reason to study this was to gain a better understanding

of the possible relationship between attitudes toward these unions and the actual


experiences of people who are intermarried. However, the limitation of this study was

that the perceptions reflected only people in this study and did not necessarily represent

all interracial couples. Patterns did seem to exist, however, suggesting that gender plays

a role in maintaining racial endogamous norms.

Degree of seriousness of the relationship is another factor that affects subjects’

attitudes toward interracial relationships. Studies show that women are less likely to

interracially date in serious relationships than men are, and men are less likely to

interracially date once or twice than are women (Clark-Ibanez, Felmlee, Crowder). It is

also interesting to note that there were other variables which were not independent,

meaning that the occurrence of one affects the likelihood of occurrence of the other.

Race and gender fit into that category. For example, being black and male was found to

be a predictor of increased support for interracial marriages and long-term relationships

(Emerson, Yancey, Qian, Zebroski).

Region, along with race and gender, appears to be another factor which impinges

upon attitudes about romantic interracial relationships. One study argues that increasing

interracial marriages in the metropolitan areas are having a negative impact on black

women because black men of higher social standing are marrying more white women

(Crowder). Some researchers suggest that interracial marriages in the western United

States are higher among men. The same study shows interracial marriages in the north

are likely to be non-black, whereas interracial marriage in the south tends to be more

common with black men and Caucasian women (Tucker, Mitchell-Kernan). Clark-

Ibanez, and Felmlee predicted that an individual who has an ethnically diverse set of

friends is more likely to receive positive feedback from his or her social network about


interracial relationships. This study supported the idea that social networks, in addition

to affecting attitudes about interracial relationships, can also be a constraint in the form of

limited opportunity to socialize with someone from a different race. The results of this

study showed that diversity of friends was the greatest factor in interracial dating. An

increase in diversity among close friends, or among close friends of the parents was

positively correlated with interracial dating. This correlation was not as strong with those

who reported having diverse acquaintances.

It is apparent that there are so many factors involved with interracial relationships

and marriage that it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which factors are causal, which factors

are relationship only, strength of correlation, etc. The inability to pinpoint causation in

the studies on a micro level is one of the limitations of the research that has already been

done on this topic. Another limitation of examining data on a micro level is some of the

social filtration that takes place during interviews. Such filtration is referred to as social

desirability bias, in which interviewees do not want to appear to have regressive ideas

regarding interracial marriage. In order to circumvent some of the filtration that takes

place in individual studies, Emerson and Yancey looked at the data on the 1998 South

Carolina Referendum, in which the law that different races cannot intermarry was going

to be overturned. They discovered that 38% of the total population voted against

overturning the law, and in some counties, the majority voted against overturning it.

This study found that attitudes toward interethnic marriage was positively correlated with

(in this order) education, percentage of males, percentages of African Americans in Black

denominations, and percentage urban. Education was thus the strongest positive


indicator in the macro-level study. Limitations to this study are generalized results - not

taking individual cases into account.

The interviews that we have conducted give us data on a micro level, which

means that we face some of the same previously mentioned limitations in our study. We

have tried to tease realistic data out of our participants by asking about their attitudes

towards interracial relationships and marriage, and then comparing their answers to their

own personal practices. By doing this, we hoped we would be able to see if people’s

behaviors match their attitudes, and therefore achieve some consistency in our data.

Another strategy that we have employed in order to achieve cohesion in our research is

interviewing only subjects who are college age. This tactic should yield more specific

results, rather than taking a simple random sample of all adults in the Chapel Hill area, or

in the United States.

Research Questions/Hypotheses

This study has chosen to look at the attitude of college-aged individuals on

interracial marriage, and more specifically, how those attitudes have been shaped by

where that person grew up, their race, family and peer influence, gender, and religious

adherence. The results of this study should not be considered a representation of the

attitudes of all Americans because the sample size was so small and only consisted of

college-age people. The reason why a college-aged sample was chosen is that this is the

age at which many people begin to seriously consider marriage. Also by this point, a

person has formed very strong beliefs about issues such as marriage. This study will

contribute information about the types of cultural structures and norms that play the


biggest role in guiding how a person views interracial marriage. It will also show how

these attitudes are changing over time and what factors have potentially influenced these

changes. Overall, this study takes marriage, a very salient part of the American life, and

assesses the amount of perceived agency that becomes reality when choosing a marriage

partner. If Americans believe that everyone should be free to love and marry whomever

they desire, then why does race seem to be such an issue?

Research Methods and Data

In our efforts to interview college-age students about the topic of interracial

dating, we tried to find groups that varied in race, gender, religion, region in the US, and

personal experience in an interracial relationship. We also varied on the modes of

communicating the interview. We either conducted them on the phone, in person, or on

Instant Messenger. The time spent in each interview varied on the person’s

communication skills. If the person was extraverted and very expressive, the interview

would last longer than an introverted person. Overall, we gathered information from a

diverse base and in diverse ways, so the sample gives the best data of opinions in race,

gender, region/environment, and personal experience.

We attempted to interview an equal number of men and women (meaning five

men and five women). During the interview process, we realized we would be able to

interview four males and six females. We did not feel this change would greatly affect the

results, but recognize the difference within the sample we took.

After gender, another factor that we wanted to sample was race. Before the

interviews, we discussed trying to interview people of ethnicities beyond those of the


traditional black and white. After conducting our interviews, we had a pretty diverse

group that weighed heavily on the Caucasian ethnicity. We interviewed five Caucasians,

one Native American, one Hispanic, and one native of India. By interviewing this type of

diverse group, a lot of unique comments that surfaced from the different cultural

backgrounds provided interesting findings.

At times race and religion were closely intertwined, which was why this aspect of

being in an interracial relationship was important to select. Four Protestants, one

Catholic, one Jewish, one Mormon, and one Hindi were interviewed. The selection that

we found provided an assorted group of people from which to receive information. Some

of these religions are known to be extremely opposed to out of religion relationships

(which may mean out of race as well for certain beliefs) due to tradition.

There were many options of how the interviews could have been conducted -

telephone, Instant Messenger, and face-to-face. Within our group, all three methods were

used. We polled three people face-to-face, four on Instant Messenger, and one over the

phone. For the three face-to-face interviews, two took place in an art gallery on the

campus of UNC- Chapel Hill. We realize that with each method there are pros and cons,

and since we interviewed most of the people online or on the phone, we were not able to

get the facial and body language that would have given even more insight into the topic

being discussed.

Experience within an interracial relationship was also important because the

opinion of someone who has been a part of one will provide different perspectives from

those who have not. The interview was done with five people who had been involved in

an interracial relationship and three who had not. The experience of these people allowed


us to understand whether environment, race, gender, and religion is more likely to form

an interracial relationship.

Environment is a key factor in determining the likelihood of an interracial

relationship, because there are many historically prejudice areas which have discouraged

interracial dating and promote segregation. The sample we chose was purposely diverse

so that there would not be too many people from the same region or state. Because we

attend a school consisting of predominantly in-state students, this task was particularly

difficult. We sampled four natives of North Carolina, two from New York, one from

Utah, and one from Chicago. The sample’s variety in North, South and Mid West regions

provides findings that show the different emotions and stereotypes that each region and

state passively voiced about interracial dating.

The timing of the interviews depended on the interviewee. Also, the responses

that the participants gave would lengthen or reduce the time spent in the interview. The

shortest interview was 30 minutes while the longest was 50 minutes. Time did not always

determine the quality of the interview, but time was dependent on the number of probes

asked during the interviews to get more information for the analysis. We allowed

questions to be added to the interview as the interviewer saw fit, just incase there was a

story that required more detail to get the full understanding of an aspect we were

researching.

Family

The interviews that our group conducted revealed very distinctive patterns

regarding familial attitudes toward interracial dating and marriage. Even though the


subjects came from a broad range of ethnic backgrounds, ten out of ten interviewees

indicated that their family members, especially parents, would at minimum prefer them to

date somebody of their own ethnicity. Siblings came across as somewhat more accepting

than parents but still somewhat guarded. Most of the subjects that we interviewed led us

to believe that they have more open and progressive views about interracial dating and

marriage than their families.

The most striking pattern that I saw across the board is a familial opposition to

dating African Americans. We asked each of the subjects how they thought their family

would react if they were to come home with a romantic partner who was Asian, African

American, Hispanic, or Caucasian. Five out of ten people interviewed indicated that their

parents would be strongly opposed to the romantic involvement of themselves or another

family member to an African American. To answer this question, one respondent said, “I

guess black would probably be the thing they would be against more than anything…I

guess a black girl would draw the strongest reaction.” Another respondent reported,

“Most races would be accepted eventually if they had light skin tones, it’s only African

American I think would be a definite no. Even if they were light skinned it would still be

hard for them to accept.” A different respondent said, “I don’t think that my family

would be really excited about an African American boyfriend. I think we all have some

underlying distrust of a stereotypical African American oppositional-type attitude.” Out

of the remaining five, four stated that their parents would show mild or moderate

disapproval. Some of these respondents stated that their parents may not react negatively

to their face, but would say negative things when they are not around. One interviewee

reported, when being asked about the different races, “I think they would pretend to be


accepting, but talk negatively about it behind my back.” Other responses alluded to the

idea that interracial marriage would not go over well, but the family would eventually

accept it.

For non white ethnicities the dominant familial preference was to date within the

race, but of all possible extra-racial romantic relationships, white appears to be

preferential. The majority of the white respondents reported that outside of their own

ethnicity, Asians would be the most acceptable to their family of any ethnicity to date or

marry. One respondent reported, “[My parents] would be happy if I brought home an

Asian. They care more if they are respectful and educated.” Another interviewee

reported, “It does seem that there is a hierarchy for acceptable interracial relationships—

Asians are most accepted, then Hispanics and then Blacks.” It is difficult to tell from

these responses if the “hierarchy of acceptability” has more to do with perceived

education, or skin tone.

We questioned our respondents as to how their parents would react if they did

marry outside of their own racial group. Responses were varied. Some said that

eventually their parents would get over it, whereas some reported that they would no

longer be welcome to “come home”. One respondent said, talking about her parent’s

reaction to an interracial relationship of her sister, “At first it was “you’re not coming

home,” which lasted about a week, and “how are people going to trust you and your kids,

if you have any?”” Other responses could be summed up by the following response: “I

honestly believe that if I brought home any race of guy, that if I was truly in love with the

guy, that if he was good to me, and that if he had a good character, the if he worked

toward building his future, and if he lacked a criminal record, then no matter what his


race, even if they were not the most thrilled with the idea at first, they would work to love

and accept that man because I love him.”

We also wanted to get an idea of how familial pressure affects the probability that

people will date or marry interracially. Our findings were that people generally prefer to

date within their own ethnicity, but were open to dating outside of that, despite possible

negative reactions from their family members. We found that in general people prefer to

engage in serious romantic relationships with those whom they would be “allowed” to

marry by their familial standards. Only one out of the ten respondents reported being

completely unwilling to ever date outside of her own ethnicity.

Religious background did not appear to be much of a factor in family’s attitudes

toward interracial dating—most everyone was against it regardless of creed. There was

one instance, however, where religion was a factor. This interviewee is Hindu, and her

parents are both from India. She reported that the most taboo extra-ethnic relationship

would be with a Muslim: “If I was to get married…they would get over it if it was a

Caucasian or any other one but not Muslim. Muslim is the number one taboo. I don’t

understand it personally, but for some reason right now, that’s how it is.” It is unclear

whether the opposition to dating/marrying a Muslim is a religious or a cultural norm. In

general, our findings revealed that religion did not seem to have much of a baring on

acceptability of interracial relationships.

A second theme, though unexpected, that appeared in our findings was parental

influence. Information gathered from our interviews revealed the significance of the

nature of the parent-child relationship as well as the parents’ thoughts about interracial

dating, in their children’s lives.


Though everyone has the ability to exercise their personal, unique agency, the

social context (social structure and cultural values and norms) in which this agency exists

shapes the agency in important ways. Parents play integral roles in their children’s social

contexts by making decisions such as how to raise their children and what values to

instill. Parents often choose to provide a childhood very similar to the one they

experienced themselves, it is obvious that time is also an important factor affecting these

interdependent pieces. Societal norms adapt and change over the years; therefore, by the

time one’s children come along, the things society values may have changed quite a bit

and the children will likely experience a much different social environment from the one

their parents experienced.

What is important to note is that children see their parents nearly every day from

the time they are born until the time they leave for college or move out of the house. This

makes parents a dominant part of their children’s social environment, so children are

more likely to learn and apply their parents’ thoughts and behaviors because they see

them day in and day out. For the Americans who were interviewed in our study, the

hometowns they grew up in were not very diverse – at least compared to the people who

made up their college environments. There were also negative stereotypes, such as “lazy

and untrustworthy”, for each of the different ethnic groups living in one’s hometown. An

explanation for the existence of these stereotypes is the fact that they began as the result

of certain historical events and have adapted as they have been passed on to each new

generation. These stereotypes have generally kept ethnic groups from intermingling too

much, which created a sense of curiosity about what this person of a different ethnic

group was like. In effect, it left individuals to judge the outward appearance of people of


different ethnic groups (instead of getting to know who the person was on the inside).

Our Hindu and Philipino interviewees also noted stereotypes for people of another caste

or ethnic group. By keeping their distance, different ethnic groups experienced very few

social situations that involved an intermingling of various ethnic groups. Our

interviewees’ parents likely placed emphasis on these stereotypes when raising their

children because it was an important social norm at the time they were growing up, so

they instilled this norm in their children. However, as noted earlier, time is an important

factor in how agency and social context shape each other, and our interviewees’

transitions to college make this point clear.

All of our interviewees agreed that America’s society is now more accepting of

interracial mingling and relationships, than it has been in the past. Along with this

general increased acceptance, the social environments that our interviewees experienced

in college were much more diverse than what they had grown accustom to in their

hometowns. Quoting one American interviewee who attended North Carolina Central

University, “in college it was much different – we would hang out in each others rooms,

talk on campus, and go to the mall or movies”. In this new social environment, the

parents were no longer the dominant factor that they once were. College students of

different ethnic groups lived in the same dorms, so they were more exposed to each

other’s lifestyles and were basically around each other 24/7. This allows students time to

look past their stereotypes and learn what’s on the inside – an opportunity that few of the

interviewees’ parents probably had because societal norms against interracial dating were

strong, so they had little experience in getting to know people of different ethnic groups.

Quoting one Native American interviewee, “I guess [living in close quarters with people


of different races] confirms that many stereotypes or misconceptions are usually wrong.”

In all of our interviews, the interviewee believed their parents preferred them to date a

mate who was of the same ethnic group, for such reasons as difficulties in

communication and differences in cultures. However, when the quantity of time that

parents and children spend in close contact is reduced, the parents’ influence loses its

strength in influencing the child because the norms of the child’s new social environment

do not emphasize differences in race. For example, our Native American interviewee

started dating her current African American boyfriend while she was a junior at the

School of Math and Science (outside the social context of her home). While this did not

create any problems during the times this interracial couple was together, alone at school,

the interviewee did mention, “when we are with our parents together it affects the social

environment”. In this situation once the interview became comfortable in a social

environment different from that which she had experienced at home with her parents, she

made a personal choice to begin an interracial relationship even though her parents’

values were against it. A correlating situation took place for one of our other

interviewees who was a white female born in North Carolina but did not go to college (so

she lived under her parents rules/values for longer than those who went to college). This

interviewee’s parents raised her on the importance of dating and marrying people only in

her ethnic group, and she still places an emphasis on that value in her life today and in

raising her own children.

As already mentioned, our interviewees’ parents were all against interracial

relationships, but this belief or value had different weights for some parents. Several

interviewees mentioned the fear and discomfort that they or some of their relatives felt


when finally telling their parents about their interracial relationship, and some even

avoided the fear and discomfort all together by not telling their parents. However,

interesting points came up in the interviewees’ discussions of how they thought their

parents would react if they found out their child was in an interracial relationship.

Some interviewees said their parents’ would not receive their interracial relationship at

well at first, due to the potential problems they thought might be brought on by cultural

differences as well as their difficulties in communicating with their child’s mate of a

different ethnic group. But the emphasis is on the two words at first. Surprisingly, many

of our interviewees said their parents would work to love and accept the mate if they saw

that their child loved a person of another race. If the parents felt their child was truly in

love in their interracial relationship and the mate was suitable among the characteristics

important in their eyes for supporting the child they have loved and raised, then they

would learn to understand this person on the inside instead of relying on stereotypes

based on outside appearance. In this way, the child brings their parents into this new

social environment where there is increased acceptability for interracial relationships so

the parents’ older social values may adapt to reflect these new, evolving social norms.

Location

Another key trend that we as a group noticed when analyzing our interview

transcripts was the influence that location background and environment had on attitudes

towards interracial relationships. Out of the ten people we interviewed, there were 5 who

were native to the South, specifically North Carolina, two were from New York State,

one was from Massachusetts, one was from Chicago, and one was from Utah. So there


was a good representation of people from various regions across the United States. There

were also differences in the types of communities people grew up in. All interviewees

that stated that they were from North Carolina grew up in very small, rural towns. The

individual who was from Chicago and one of the interviewees from New York were from

urban settings. The other three interviewees from New York, Utah and Massachusetts

responded that they grew up in a suburban community. While familial influence had the

biggest effect on developing a person’s attitudes and beliefs about interracial

relationships, it seems that where a person grew up and the type of community that he or

she grew up in played a major role in the opportunities that person had to act on their

beliefs. The racial diversity of a person’s location and environment affects the

opportunities he or she has at engaging in interracial relationships, whether that is

friendships, dating relationships, or marriage. When assessing the effects of location and

environment we focused on community, high school and university diversity.

For community diversity we found that respondents who were from the more rural

and suburban communities described the diversity in their community as lacking in racial

diversity. Many responded that the racial make-up of their community was a majority

Caucasian with a handful of African-Americans and Hispanics. One interviewee from a

rural town in North Carolina describes her community like this, “White was the majority

there. Liberty was very small so there wasn’t much racial diversity, just a few blacks and

a whole lotta whites.” Many of these communities held very strong opinions and

stereotypes about certain minority groups. Blacks were said to be unwed, welfare

mothers, lazy, stupid, thieves, and loud. Asians were smart but untrustworthy while

Indian/Pakistanis only worked in convenience stores. Hispanics were dirty, lazy, drug


dealers, traveled in packs and were stealing American’s jobs. One respondent stated that

these views about minorities were because of the ignorance cause by a lack of exposure

to other ethnic groups, which was true for many of the communities that held these

beliefs.

When each respondent was asked to describe the diversity at his or her high

school, the interviewees from rural/suburban communities stated that the racial diversity

of their high school reflected the diversity of their community; mostly white with a few

African-Americans and Hispanics. This lack of diversity resulted in little intermingling

between racial groups in high school. The segregation of groups had a huge influence on

the amount of contact these respondents had with other races. When asked about the

racial composition of their group of friends, the respondents who were Caucasian stated

that the majority of their closest friends were also Caucasian and the only time they ever

socialized with other races was during class time or if they participated in the same

sporting event. Some times the lack of diverse friendships was due to underlying racial

tension, as was the case for most of the interviewees from rural NC, or due to a lack of

opportunities for creating these friendships. One respondent from suburban

Massachusetts stated that he never avoided people of other races; there just weren’t any

activities or opportunities to intermingle with them or make friends. Respondents who

were from more urban settings all stated that their high schools had a large diversity of

races and there was frequent intermingling between groups. These respondents along

with respondents who were a minority in their high school also stated that they had close

friends of varying racial backgrounds. Many of them even dated interracially. The racial


diversity of each respondent’s community and high school had a direct effect on their

opportunities to engage in interracial relationships.

Nine of the ten people we interviewed attended college after high school. Each of

these nine interviewees responded that college was much more diverse than their

community or high school. Colleges and universities attract students of varying racial

backgrounds and also students from countries all around the world. Universities also

offer classes, programs, and events that promote and celebrate other cultures. Many

times students are placed in a living situation with a person of a different race or students

get a chance to experience another culture firsthand by studying abroad. When the

interviewees were asked how all of these factors and the new, more diverse environment

affected them, the majority of them responded that it gave them more exposure to people

of varying races which provided them with opportunities to build more diverse

relationships and even date interracially. Some specific responses were that college

opened their eyes to other cultures, gave them more respect for the need for diversity,

helped them be less fearful of certain racial groups, and broke down the stereotypes held

by their communities (such as the ones mentioned above) and confirmed those attitudes

were wrong and rooted in ignorance. The break down of stereotypes was especially

important because it was found that the one interviewee, that never attended college, also

never changed her views about interracial marriage. She was raised not to date people of

other races and that is how she is going to raise her children. Overall, it was evident that

being exposed to a diverse environment, such as college, encouraged a change in

attitudes and provided more social contact with other racial groups resulting in more

friendships and dating relationships that were not present in high school.


These findings were a small reflection of a more national trend in interracial

dating and marriages. One study from the Journal of Marriage and Family, conducted

by Clark-Ibanez and colleagues (2004) found that a person’s social network, or the ethnic

diversity of his or her setting, could either encourage or constrain that person’s

opportunity to have an interracial relationship. A person is encouraged to have interracial

relationships when he or she has an ethnically diverse set of friends because that group is

more likely to be more accepting of the relationship and therefore, positively reinforcing

it. Social network becomes a constraint when there are limited opportunities to socialize

with people of different races. This supports our findings about community and high

school diversity because there were many interviewees who stated that they were not

against interracial dating; it was just that they had never had the opportunity to be in that

type of relationship because their interactions with other races were severely limited. The

lack of racial diversity was a constraint for them. Yet for the minorities that we

interviewed, their social network proved to be an encourager of interracial relationships.

A study done by Qian (1999) in the Journal of Comparative Family Studies, looked at

who was intermarrying. They found that “racial marriage hinges on relative population

of each racial group and their opportunities to have social contact…a racial minority has

a greater chance or marrying outside of their race if the population of their specific group

is very low.” All of our minority respondents had been in an interracial dating

relationship and it was mainly because either the population of their race was very low or

they were the only person in their graduating class of that particular race. This social

network perspective is further supported by the change in attitudes and dating trends once

the respondents’ attended college. At college they were all exposed to a much more


diverse social network. The nine of ten interviewees that did attend college commented

on the wide variety of racial and ethnic groups they were exposed to at college and 7 of

those 9 commented on how that exposure helped them get rid of false stereotypes, open

their eyes to other cultures, respect the need for diversity, and generally just be more

accepting of other racial groups. Many of the respondents who had never dated

interracially in high school did have at least one interracial relationship after beginning

college. The one interviewee who was never exposed to a diverse environment because

she never attended college still holds the same beliefs about interracial marriage that she

held in high school; she is very much against it. In conclusion, these interviews have

given great insight into the influence a person’s social diversity has on his or her

probability at having an interracial relationship.

Conclusion

Parental influence was important in revealing the significance of the nature of the

parent-child relationship and the parents’ thoughts about interracial dating. Parents play

integral roles in their children’s social contexts by making decisions such as how to raise

their children and what values to instill. From birth until the day they leave their parents’

home for good, children are greatly influenced by their parents whom they see day in and

day out. Therefore, the children’s attitudes and behaviors on issues such as interracial

dating were very similar to their parents’. However, children who chose to go to college

enter a social environment that is more accepting of ethnic diversity, and the children no

longer have constant interaction with their parents.


In this social context, children gained a sense of independence from their parents

and were more exposed to people of other ethnic groups, which caused their attitudes and

behaviors to be more like that of the college’s social environment – more acceptance of

racial diversity. Children who stayed at home and never moved far away from their

parents, kept their parents’ unfavorable attitude toward interracial dating and plan to

instill them in their own children.

Nine out of ten interviewees stated that college was more diverse than high

school. Thus it changed their attitudes and opportunities for friendships and

relationships. Those from rural/suburban settings described their communities as mainly

Caucasian with few minorities. Most of the interviewees from an urban setting described

their setting as diverse and had a diverse group of friends in which they interacted with.

We found that where people went to high school tended to reflect the diversity of the

community therefore affecting their opportunity in friendships and dating opportunities,

because if there was not a lot of diversity there was little intermingling of races.

Therefore, location/community also is a big factor in determining the selection for

interracial dating.

introduction - the university of north carolina at …ldpearce/soci30/group project/group7.doc ·...

Documents