Interracial Dating (Part 1 of 2)
As recently as 1967, marrying a person of another race was considered to be illegal in at least sixteen states of the United States. Thanks to the Loving Decision, a ruling made by the U.S. Supreme Court, these laws have been overturned and people are free to date and marry whom they like without condemnation. Considering that only forty years have passed since interracial dating was viewed in such a negative light, individuals who engage in cross-cultural romantic relations might still find themselves suffering some lash-back from individuals who are behind the times.Thankfully, interracial dating has come a long way since the days when couples were sent to jail for it. There are many sites on the Internet that encourage people to meet each other and explore their romantic options with individuals from different backgrounds. Simply typing in the keywords "interracial dating" or "interracial couples" into a popular search engine such as Google will lead you to scores of sites that not only provide dating services but also offer support in the form of chat-rooms and forums to interracial couples.
Interracial couples can face all kinds of unusual challenges during their time together including racist or disapproving comments from friends or family who insist on resisting evolving attitudes about this matter. Depending on the community that the couple lives in, they may also suffer from prejudice when it comes to the dealing employment, health and banking systems.
One might wonder what might cause family and friends to rebel against interracial dating. As explained in Verna Stolke's book entitled "Marriage, Class & Color In 19th Century Cuba", many families may oppose the bonding of their loved one with someone of another race because of political reasons, religious reasons or family pride. In one example in the book a Spanish doctor was against the bonding of his daughter with a Jamaican man because he did not want to "spoil the family blood." Many critics of interracial relationships also demean them by ascribing the appeal to sex and the lure of exotic sensual adventures. They don't understand that a great deal of soul-searching goes into interracial relationships and that many of them are begin as friendships that blossom into true love.
Some family members might not overtly demonstrate their abhorrence toward interracial relationships and instead display their disapproval in a subtle passive-aggressive manner. For instance, parents may not invite their daughter or son who is dating or married interracially to any family functions. Moreover, the grandparents may not attend any of the biracial grandchildren's birthday parties or invitations for family reunions. There will always be some type of excuse as to why the biracial couple has been excluded from bonding socially with the rest of the family.
Opposition by family and friends... [Continued: Interracial Dating 2]