Interracial Marriage Argumentative Essay

American attitudes toward interracial marriage illustrate an “awkward historical moment” because after the interracial marriage law changed, one would think black/white marriages are common but they are the least. Over the years, interracial marriages has increased by a few percent, mainly from other races that are not black/white. In America, racism still exist even when laws are changing.

Traditionally, people have believed that when a person marries outside of their race, they do so as a way to escape from their race, culture, or traditional beliefs. In contrast, popular culture theorizes that interracial marriages are motivated not by a desire to leave behind one’s heritage, but by love between two people who happen to be of different races. In this paper, I seek to analyze and compare these two perspectives, proposing a theory that combines the two by accounting for a person’s upbringing and beliefs when deciding what their motivation may be. I first analyze the traditional belief of interracial marriage in comparison to the popular culture belief and present my theory combining the two. I then analyze the effect of dominant versus nondominant culture on motivations, and use examples from popular culture to look at the effect a person’s culture and upbringing can have their motivations for marriage. Lastly, I explain how my perspective will affect the way I live my life.

For centuries human beings have been on a quest for love. As time has passed, this search has lead to mixing of races and resulted in interracial relationships, both long-term couples and casual dating.

Historically, interracial families’ were a taboo in the United States and many other countries. In the 1960’s, the civil rights movement caused the country to move

It was the interracial marriages which made many states change their legislation, lift bans on interracial marriages and made amendments to the existing laws by showing acceptability and leniency to interracial romance. There have been reported cases where individuals from different racial background got married and lost acceptance from both the social groups which made them suffer a great deal. However, over the period of time, their relationship gained acceptance.

One’s colour, religion and families origin should not interfere with the happiness between the couple. A publication by the University of Toronto Scarborough furthers this notion of love and relationships; yet explains there are many barriers and challenges which many interracial couples strive to overcome.

Richard and Mildred Loving, a biracial couple, changed millions of lives in 1976 when they triumphed in the federal case, “Loving vs. Virginia” at the Supreme Court. Their case ended the anti-miscegenation laws created in the 1930s which outlawed interracial marriages. Nearly fifty years later, the U.S Census shows that there were 2.3 million interracial marriages in 2007 which is seven times the number calculated in 1970. This figure, many would say, is a sign of hope for a society has become more accepting and less racist. But how realistic is that idea? Many minorities still face racism and constant oppression every day of their lives. As our culture is constantly forming and changing, there emerge issues with how we understand race and ethnicity. While the concept of race is simply a social construct, with no real science behind it, its societal repercussions are entirely real due to the challenges that comes with it. This system of classification has progressed through centuries and led to the social, economic, and political prejudice against people of color, and further, has institutionalized racism to and systematized the oppression of these people.

Since the Loving V. Virginia case was settled in favor of Loving, interracial marriage became legal. Today more people are choosing to find their spouse outside of their race.

In each generation, it seems as if there is always a very controversial issue. It usually varies from the legalization of marijuana or the lowering of the drinking age all the way to the views on abortions. However, one thing is clear, the issue on interracial relationships is still as controversial today as it was nearly fifty years ago. While times may have changed and society has gotten used to these interracial relationships, it’s still something that is being talked about regularly. Starting in the 1960’s, the issue on interracial relationships became more relevant. It sparked much controversy after a couple from Virginia was arrested for participating in an interracial relationship. The case, Loving versus Virginia, was taken to the

Interracial dating has been considered as unacceptable, and as times has passed, numerous of people have come to accept the relationships of people with

According to the U. S. Census Reports, interracial marriages have more than tripled between 1980 and today. There are currently 1.6 million interracial marriages in the United States, and that figure is continuing to grow (Duru, 2012). Statistics show that over 70% of American society has no problem with mixed race relationships, and 40% of Americans have already dated someone of another ethnicity. For the most part relationships between people of different races are no different from the interactions between people of the same race (Duru, 2012).

Interracial marriages are still considered taboo in many countries in the world and even in the United States. While the opportunity to marry whoever one desires is a reality in America, it is not always common and sometime frowned upon in our communities. Much progress has been made as a country to allow interracial marriages to be successful, but the American population has had difficulty accepting the legal development that has taken place in our nation. Interracial Marriage has been fought throughout our history but is not an unethical relationship in fact it creates avenues to expand our diversity as a human race.

Diversity in cultures throughout the world can often create obstacles when developing relationships. However, despite years of desegregation, social and cultural differences still exist. One of the differences that still exist is the institution of marriage. This is especially true when it comes to the topic of interracial marriages. Which has been described as a marriage between members of two different races. Even though, it has not been that long ago since interracial marriage has been made legal throughout the entire United States. It continues to be one of the biggest conflicts in society today, considering everyone has their different viewpoints on the topic. Since these types of marriages are considered to be an exception rather than a norm, many couples continue to encounter various issues.

The two articles used were “Understanding the Occurrence of Interracial Marriage in the United States through Differential Assimilation” (Lewis, Ford- Robinson, 2010) and “Marital Dissolution among Interracial Couples” (Zhang, Van Hook, 2009). The first article “Understanding the Occurrence of Interracial Marriage in the United States through Differential Assimilation”, spoke about the unprecedented changes that our society is going though in the 21st century.

The law forbidding interracial marriage was terminated in 1967, and in the midst of rapid racial change, one fact is unmistakable: A growing number of Americans are showing that we all can get along by forming relationships and families that cross all color lines. In the past couple decades, the number of interracial marriages has increased dramatically. Interracial dating and marrying is described as the dating or marrying of two people of different races, and it is becoming much more common to do so. Thirty years ago, only one in every 100 children born in the United States was of mixed race. Today, the number is one in 19. In some states, such as California and Washington, the number is closer to one in 10 (Melting Pot).