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Week 11 (15-21.12.14) Mixed race marriages/couples



source: http://www.secureteen.com/uploads/2013/10/interracial-relationships.jpg

This time I would to raise a bit delicate and controversial topic of mixed race marriages/couples. Unfortunately, I had only data from the US which might not correspond to the situation for instance in Poland or other European countries.

Firstly, many of you might not know but interracial marriages became fully legal in all states of the US in 1967. Before that it was simply illegal and it was treated as crime. There is actually a known case of Mildred and Richard Loving from 1967 in Virginia.


Research from 2010

According to the Pew Research Center Report the 15.1% of all new marriages in 2010 were interracial ones and most often the Asians (27.7%)  and Hispanics (25.7%) who chose a spouse outside of his/her race or ethnicity. However,  the most often appearing mixes were White-Hispanic (43.3%) and Other Combinations (30.4%). Other Combinations were defined as mixes of minority groups, multi-racial people, and American Indians.


Married couples in the United States in 2010

White Wife
Black Wife
Asian Wife
Other Wife
White Husband
50,410,000
168,000
529,000
487,000
Black Husband
390,000
4,072,000
39,000
66,000
Asian Husband
219,000
9,000
2,855,000
28,000
Other Husband
488,000
18,000
37,000
568,000


Obviously, it is not all the information included in the report but it was simply too big to mention everything here. All in all, we can clearly see that in the US the topic of  mixed race marriages is not such a taboo as it was before. Certainly, I think that in the some states it is still not acceptable to marry someone of a different race, but I do believe it is going to change slowly.


Moreover, as most of you have noticed I do not fit into a typical description of the Polish ethnic group, but I have been living here for about 20 years now. People here are still not very accustomed to a foreign looking person speaking fluently in Polish. As for mixed couples I haven't seen many of them in Poland, but they do exist and I personally know a few of them. However, I am afraid that it will take many years until the situation is going to change.

What is your opinion about mixed race couples?
Have you ever met such couples?
Do you think that a mixed couple will ever stop being a taboo?

sources:
http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/2010/03/06/interracial-divorce-the-matrix/
http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/intermarriage-on-the-rise-in-the-u-s/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/interracial-marriage-in-us_n_1281229.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia


Comments

rf. said…
That is a really good topic for you to flourish in I'd say as you seem personally interested :D well, no wonder as you get to get a polish girl (who as you know are the best and sweetest and all)! I think mixed race couples sometimes find it more difficult to secure a middle ground for both sides traditions, families and culture. But the rest is just people and mixed couples get to be as good an as bad as non-mixed ones I believe. I know mixed couples, in our community they are not a taboo, actually I think that mixed couple children are sweet and healthy!
Unknown said…
I don't think that mixed raced couples are a taboo anymore, I guess that homosexual couples had unfortunately taken up their place and are being discussed the same way as mixed race couples were frown upon in the 50's and 60's. I agree with rt. that mixed race couples can sometimes find it more difficult to secure a middle ground for both sides traditions, families and culture because there are often huge differences in religions and social backgrounds but those differences can also be found in between two people of the same race.

I know mixed raced couples and actually I have two of them in my family (my aunt from Paris and my cousin from Canada are in relationships with a different race guys) and I don't see any differences between their relationships and those of people who are both white/black/etc. My grandparents had some difficulty accepting those unions but except for them nobody else sees any problem. Racist people are ignorant and I hope that in couple of generations we will learn to treat everybody equally. I hope that mixed couples will stop being a taboo (if as you say they still are) and I also hope that homosexual marriages will one day be legal everywhere and will stop bothering people. Everybody should have equal rights and people should stop making everything about themselves and let others do as they like (I'm talking about actions that don't concern or harm others ;) ).
You forgot to mention that except for a lot of sweetness they have the most vitamins :D

I agree with everything you wrote but don't you think that all these obstacles you have mentioned may cause people not to even consider being together in the first place?
Maybe you are right about mixed races couples not being such a taboo these days. But I think it mostly applies to the western countries like the United States, Canada, France, UK etc.

You mentioned that you have this type of couple in your family, but both of these couples are living in the western country where being in mixed race relationship is usually socially acceptable.
Don't you think?
Unknown said…
Yes that's true they live in other countries but I don't believe that it's so different here. Of course there are places twhere it may not be acceptable but I thought we were talking about "civilized" world ;) Anyway I really hope that it will be socially acceptable everywhere in the future.
Unknown said…
I never saw race as some sort of problem if it comes to personal relationships or even love and too be honest i didn't know there was any types of remarks until i was in my teens and learned that in western countries there is older demographic which dislikes the idea of mixed races (oh, also Nazi Germany.) I am still stunned to hear that in USA some elders discuss someone relationship in public and says it is bad. Though, like Paulina, i don't think it's that common, but still exists.
Also i think there is problem with mixed couples based on religion, especially muslims and christians or orthodox jewish and christians. Every time it is viewed as wrong by both sides. And it is more complicated when, lets say, neither of lovers won't change their religion in favour to other partner.
I knew some couple that have mixed asian families because it's close to Russia and there is a lot of koreans, mongolians and vietnamese. Never in my life i heard any racism or bad remarks.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said…
I absolutely do not have any problem with mixed race couples and I do not think that it is still a problem! For me the skin color does not have any importance. I travel a lot and I meet variety of people. I never look at their skin color but at their personality. Imagine that one day in LA my friend and I were the only white ones in a bus and the rest were black. We survived, more so we had a very funny trip because of their sense of humor. According to me, it largely depends on the country where one lives. In the USA there are a lot of mixed raced couples and there is nothing abnormal about it.
Answering your question if I met mixed couples. Well, my best friend lives in Bahrain and she has an Arabic boyfriend. So for me mixed couples are nothing special, I encounter it on daily basis.
In general the mixed couples are not a big problem in the USA especially in the LA.
Moreover, I think the fact you travel a lot had a big influence on your way of thinking. You probably perceive many things differently than ordinary citizen in Poland.
You are totally right about religion. Sometimes I think it is a obstacle impossible to overcome.
Unknown said…
Almost everybody have some deal breakers considering relationships and they may come in between every couple both mixed race and same race people. I for example would never see myself dating any religious person because that's a very important point for me and definitely a deal breaker I also think that people in relationships should agree about their goal in life/the most important things (like having kids or getting married) so one of the partners won't get disappointed in the future because they had different plans for life.
MartaSB said…
Great topic! I totally support mixed race couples and I don't think there should be any issue with that in the society. I agree that some groups of people can be negative but they are mostly scared of 'different' and/or 'new' in general - they have their own limited view on life and anybody from outside the 'mutual admiration society' will be treated as 'suspicious' or 'worse': people of different race, sexual orientation, religion etc.

I have met many mixed couples: White&Hispanic, White&Black, White&Asian and what I can say... they are just normal couples :)
My cousin married a Japanese girl and moved to Japan few years ago. Now they are living happily in Tokyo and for me it's the best example of multinational couple - the culture aspects doubled and this only made their life richer!

As for challenges in such relationships, I think that couples can differ on many other grounds and skin colour/culture is not a 'problem' at all - for open-minded people the culture differences are something to explore and build on.
Unknown said…
It is such a complex and long topic to discuss.

To make it short, the data makes sense and the high amounts presented there for interracial seem to be getting even higher these days, for social reasons - for instance asian husband and white wife is quite uncommon, but happens, while white husband and asian wife is very common and looked forward to by both partners, in general - that's why this data looks not always symmetrical, due to social reasons. I think it's perfectly natural, and even from evolutionary state of things makes sense.

Personally, I was in relationships with girls representing different cultures, including an Asian girlfriend and only the culture differences are sometimes hard to swallow and you can see them after a while basically every day, the most bothersome is an alternative way of thinking compared to ours. But I think it's a very interesting experience and in some cases in the long run someone might find that having a partner of different race is what suits them better.
Thank you very much for comment and I am glad that you liked the topic. You are absolutely right that there will always be a groups of people that do not accept this type of couples.

I see that you have met many mixed race couples. I am curious what type of mix was it specifically. I mean the gender. Whether it was White male with Hispanic female or the opposite etc.
Thank You Simon for your input. I know that this is very complex topic but this is why I chose it.

The part where you mentioned about culture differences got me most interested. Let's say that I know both cultures (western and far eastern) very well I am curious what kind of differences you meant and how would I react to them.
Unknown said…
What is your opinion about mixed race couples?

I think that as long as they can deal with cultural differences, they are no different from same-race couples.

Have you ever met such couples?
Yes. I know asian-white couple. They seem very close to each other - I dont find anything unusual about them.

Do you think that a mixed couple will ever stop being a taboo?
I think in our country it might take some time, but probably eventually it will.
Unknown said…
I have no problem with mix couples. If two people want to be with each other, they should, no matter of their race, gender or other differences.
However, I think topic of mixed race couples can be a taboo, especially in Poland, where people are not very tolerant to other races. It is really sad, that difference in race or religion can be for some people a problem, even cause agression. It will probably take some time till mixed couples will be treated as something normal.
I don't have any problems with mixed race couples. We live in the 21 century. I think that these mixed race are not surprising. In fact in Poland rarely you can meet such this couples. In my opinion this is caused by small number of people of non-European race.
Unknown said…
What is your opinion about mixed race couples?
What is my opinion?
My opinion is that I'm happy for the couples which can enjoy each other company, no matter their race. I have nothing against it.

Have you ever met such couples?
Yes.

Do you think that a mixed couple will ever stop being a taboo?
I hope so.

What is your opinion about mixed race couples?

In my opinion the most physically atractive people are mixed race. Mixed race couples can give their children unique and astonishing look. For instance Keanu Reeves(quater Asian) or ex girlfriend of my favourite blogger Kathleen Elliott(half white half Alaskan)

Have you ever met such couples?

No, I didn't.

Do you think that a mixed couple will ever stop being a taboo?

Probably yes, but it's going to be few hundred years. To me it's not a taboo and I have nothing against it unless husband isn't a muslim.
Unknown said…
I never had and I still don’t have any problems with mixed race couples. I met such couples many times and it is perfectly normal for me. I can’t understand people who are against such relationships. People in developing countries like Poland are a bit behind and still didn’t manage to understand we are living in 21 century and it is time to change.
I see nothing wrong in mixed race couples, I met a few myself and I don't think it's extraordinary in any way. It all depends from the people really, that is if they are able of finding a compromise between the traditions of their cultures and families. I heard that in many cases a mixed race marriage broke apart when one of the two went to live with the family of their partner for some time and simply couldn't understand and accept the customs of that family.
Why do you assume that it is going to take few hundred years.
Don't you think it is a bit a long time? I personally had in mind a bit lesser number like 50-60 years.
You are probably right. I have not met many people of non-European race in Poland. Maybe it is a little bit different in Warsaw but it is still not that many.
Unknown said…
I have no problem with mixed race or same sex couples. It is all about finding your soulmate, isn't it? Unfortunately, not everyone is as tollerant as the majority of people on this blog and it is sad to see the issues people have regarding this topic. It is really weird that when in Poland a family meets their son's/daughter's girlfriend/boyfriend and they see that he/she is of a different race than theirs, they turn very suspicious as if they were looking on an exotic animal - not knowing what its reaction might be. It is a ridicullous type of racism - I have nothing againtst people of different race than mine, but only if they're not dating my child. I hope this will change soon and it won't be a taboo anymore.
The other thing are cultural differences which sometimes may be hard to overcome. I've met a muslim man, he was engaged to a Polish girl, they got married and he made her wear a burqa all the time even though he didn't respect muslim requirements himself.
Unknown said…
In my opinion there is nothing bad in mixed couples. In future there will be even more of them because if a person loves someone the skin color becomes not important. I haven’t met a mixed couple in Poland yet because in our country 98% of people have white skin.
Unknown said…
I agree that mixed race people are very attractive! I know a girl who is half asian and she is absolutely beautiful. My grandpa always says that "kundle"/"mieszańce" are the most beautiful people in the world - also a weird example of racism. I always critisize him for putting it in these words, but I think that you can't change old people as much as you would like to, so I don't care a lot.
Unknown said…
It is not only the case in mixed marriages, I've heard that most marriages that live with one side's family break apart sooner or later.
Seisyll said…
What is your opinion about mixed race couples?
I don't see any problem with that. If people love each other then who am I to judge and meddle in their lives.

Have you ever met such couples?
As far as I can recall no.

Do you think that a mixed couple will ever stop being a taboo?
World is changing constantly and there is also that thing called globalisation. I think that some time might be needed but one day surely people will forget about that being a problem.
Sylwia said…
I think that mix couples are getting more and more common. Because globalisation we travel a lot and often meet people from other cultures and races. Cultural differences may be hard to accept, but we are all more international than we used to be and it makes such relationships easier.
Unknown said…
I understand the situation but it's not a problem for me. People should do what they want and choose who the want. I'm very openmided about this things.
Of course. I have met a lot of mixed couples. Never had problem with it.
But some people probably will always have problems with it. They are jealous or just stupid.
For 100% I don't think so. But it's going in good direction unfortunately very slowly.
As research says people will be mixed more and more in future.
Unknown said…
I think that in the modern era, in globalization era where we can travel in any part of the world in a matter of hours not even days or weeks it is pretty obvious that such phenomenon like mixed race marriages will be just a matter of time. There are a lot of closed societies which could be characterised as families which first of all thinks about purity of their generation, however I can say that it is just an old-fashioned view as people could decide by themselfs and not by what society thinks - first of all its theirs life and they should live it, not society with its prejudice and sic nationalistic, racistic or xenophobical approaches. Yes, still it will be a problem in societies that were characterised before as while in the US it is not that big deal somewhere in Japan or Middle-East that could cause some serious problems to the young family and sometimes even ruin their lifes.
Marcin Lyzwa said…
What is your opinion about mixed race couples?

I have nothing against mixed race couples/marriages. If two persons want to be together and both accept each other it doesn't matter what color of skin are they, what they believe and even gender doesn't matter.
Have you ever met such couples?

Yes, I have met such couple, but not so mixed one.
Do you think that a mixed couple will ever stop being a taboo?

For me mixed couple are not a taboo. But generally, especial in Poland in smaller cities, it's still being a taboo. I hope it would change in the future.
We live in UE, in quite open World so seeing more mixed couples shouldn't be so shocked.
Unknown said…
In my opinion race is not a problem. In my opinion bigger problem is ideology, religion, etc.
My friend has a boyfriend, which is an Arab. They are great couple. Oh, my cousin has a husband which is Arab, and they are good marriage as well.
I think that topic about mixed races has never stop being taboo. I think( but I don’t know why) people think that this topic is embarassing. I’m sure that people will always talk about it because it seems to be interesting and fascinating for people.
Michal Kulesza said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michal Kulesza said…
My friend has Arab husband. It was rather shock for her family, from small village in south Poland in early 90' when she announced it. Now they're happily married for 15 years. From their story I know that it was really big problem for him and his family, even bigger than for her. He had to leave everything he had in Kuweit (and he was rather rich and meaningful person there) and moved to Poland on his own.

Now their family is renewing contact but they still haven't met for 25 years. When they met for the first time he was 17 and she was 16.

So I'm not against mixed race relationships and in my opinion no one should. And for me mixed couples nowadays aren't taboo anymore.
Mateusz Frycie said…
What is your opinion about mixed race couples?
I don't see any problem in mixed race couples/marriages. If people love each other skin color, cultural issues and stuff like that is not that important any more...

Have you ever met such couples?
My girlfriend is half-African.

Do you think that a mixed couple will ever stop being a taboo?
Haha... nope. I'm also dark-skinned person so it's kinda funny for me:)
Julia Osiak said…
I have absolutely nothing against mixed race relationships. I have met many of them and most of them are working out just fine. The most interesting 'mix', if I may call it that' is a marriage between a half-Polish half-Moroccan man with a Japanese woman, whom he has met in France :)
I think that relationships from different races and cultures have many issues to work out but just as many if not more possibilities to enrich one another with the culture and traditions and the way of living. I really don't know why it still should or is a taboo.
Unknown said…
I don't know why would anyone have something against mixed race couples. Especially if it is about other couples, then it's just not your buisness. Everyone has some personal preferances, and that's it.
Unknown said…
In my opinion be in this kind of relationship is really hard. People have two completely different ways of thinking. They can have different culture, religion and generally can react differently to some situations. Relationship requires a lot of sacrifice, understanding and being flexible and of course understanding for the other partner's behavior. when two people want to be together they will do everything to live well under one roof. They adapt to themselves.
Rafał Banach said…
I have no problem with mixed race couples. I personally knew few of them. They're happy, everything is ok. They have problems but this is normal in every situations not only becouse of mixed race.
I didn't even know that is a subject of taboo.
I know many few mix race couples, and I am quite sure that mixed couples will stop being taboo because all races are mixing right now. thanks to EU and quite a big freedom of traveling around the world it will be more and more common subject. Like one comedian said, in couple decades we will all look alike,most likely like a mix of Chinese and Indian :D ---> :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDl8unyFE0c Russel peters
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