The problem of interracial marriages is not new for the USA, the country is sometimes even called- the melting pot, which supports the fact that there are a lot of ethnicities there and no wonder that interracial marriage are not rare cases in America, but another fact is that people who risk and marry somebody of another race face a lot of problems, sometimes even absolutely unexpected ones. There are such sides of racial differences which can not be simply smoothened by some laws or politically correct terms and so on, they are even more than simply different skin color or appearance, some inborn traditions and views can not be simply forgotten.
If to talk about the USA we could mention three main races (certainly there are much more in reality) – whites, black people and Asian people. An interesting tendency is described in the book by John O’Sullivan “Is Love Colorblind?” – the author pays attention that the effect of growth of interracial marriages led to increase of resentment towards white people from black and Asian men and women. Moreover, his statistical research showed that Black men more often than black women are involved into romantic relations with whites, and on the other hand, East Asian women are more likely to marry white men, then Asian men – to marry white women.
Many people think that as time passes the gaps between different races disappear, but this haven’t happened and will not probably happen in future. In the year 1990 in the article “The Black Gender Gap” were given proofs that the social climate was changing to the minimization of racial differences, as African- Americans made better progress in college and corporate worlds, had contacts with whites more often and so on. But “In contrast, black men had a decade to forget – including a big increase in African- American men in prison which certainly reduced their availability on the marriage market.” (2).


A rather serious problem for interracial marriages is the attitude of racists to them. For example in the year 1992 Patrick J. Buchanan’s Republican presidential campaign in New Jersey was fired when he compared interracial marriages with cross-breeding of animals.
A separate problem for mixed marriages is children. They usually get their senses of self from their parents from the way how both parents perceive them, and if a child has to choose between two different races it is difficult for him to have the integrated sense of self. Usually different races have different approaches to children upbringing and a mother and a father have to discuss their attitudes openly and thus create some common perception if they want to avoid some critical situations with their child and if they want him to have some integrated and strong system of values and attitudes.
The scientists actually talk about three main problems of biracial parents:
- when one of the parents says to the child that he is white and another says that he is black,
- “The second clash of identity arises between the child’s choice of identification whether it is Black or White and the negative parental feedback from such a choice”
- and the last one – when parents and their child agree upon his identity and this decision doesn’t coincide with the views of society around.
To continue the theme of the relations of biracial child and the society we should mention that parents are to prepare their child for racism, he would certainly face in his lives, and probably rather soon. Racists separate usually two categories for themselves and biracial children fit none of them and thus get even more negative attention from the side of racists.
A some historical experience shows such children might face problems with their grandparents, even if they get attached to them, they might still have fear that they be associated with blacks, and then they start to distance from their grandparents, this certainly can not stay unnoticed by biracial children and influences their own impression of the society. They might also have difficulties in communication with their siblings.
We talked a lot about problems, but there are some advantages of biracial children as well, as an example of them we could mention the understanding and awareness of multiple racial perspectives, which a biracial child gets from his parents. Besides they have sometimes better chances for educational advances – for example the Negro college fund – the aim of which is to “reduce the damage caused by racism”.
So, we managed to touch only some of important problems of mixed marriages in the past and at the present time, there are certainly much more difficulties they have to over come, but on the other hand if two people love each other and are able to sustain this love through their lives and then pass to their children, if they are able to develop the high level of their child’s identity, instead of making him a social outcast, able to teach him to survive in this society and to become a worthy man on this planet, we are not talking about breeds any more, we are talking about human beings.


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