Interracial Marriages (Taboo)

Interracial Marriages (Taboo)

Introduction

The literature in multicultural psychology has commented upon the lack of consensus regarding what comprises or distinguishes race and ethnic identity. Race and ethnic identity are neither identical nor mutually exclusive but are interdependent and exist in the context of culture. Some assert that race is a social category constructed by cultures that classify persons into racial groups on the basis of characteristics deemed socially significant (Dana, Gamst, & Der-Karabetian, 2008). The California Brief Multicultural Scale (CBMCS) defines culture as a set of attitudes, beliefs, symbols and behaviors shaped by a group of people, but distinguishable from individuals. Race, according to CBMCS, is no longer considered a scientifically meaningful biological category because there are greater ethnic variations within racial groups than among attempted groupings. Historically, ethnicity refers to the possession of a common historical and cultural heritage.

Discussion

This heritage includes behaviors, beliefs, customs, language, and symbols (Dana, Gamst, & Der-Karabetian, 2008). Yancey and Yancey (2002) proposed a religious ideology that highlighted the juxtaposition of struggle and joy in interracial unions. The authors explored race as a construct of social demarcation and addressed the realities of interracial love through a color-blind lens. They observed that the construct of race was found in the Judeo- Christian tradition and that Christianity affirmed interracial coupling because it emphasized the existence of one race - the human race. The authors defined race by placing members into “people groups” (p. 54) rather than focusing on individual differences within specific racial classifications. This view was similar to racialist theories that assigned people to racial “people groups” and did not focus on intragroup variations.

This was especially true during the 19th and first half of the 20th century. The color-blind perspective negated the salient differences within the races and presupposed that all humans, irrespective of race, were God's children. From this perspective, all persons had privilege in the world. The authors presented arguments that encouraged the public to challenge the prevailing ideologies of racial inferiority and White superiority. In an attempt to encourage a broader, racist free perspective, they presented an approach that departed from defining and classifying persons in terms of race and color, thus supporting a color-blind ideology.

Interracial Marriage

By "interracial marriages", strictly speaking, it should be understood all marriages contracted between persons who are not from the same group of origin or who do not share the same worldview. Therefore, it can be considered as mixed marriages contracted between two spouses of belonging to distinct peoples, or between two people including racial differences, like between two people belonging to different religions or churches. -These present special difficulties, in that the lack of homogeneity among the groups of origin of the spouses, the diversity of education received the difference in customs and traditions and, especially, the different view of the world constitute obstacles to the realization of full communion of love and life that is the essence of marriage. 

But, at the same time, have their positive aspects, as they offer a meeting place and create a new ...