Interracial Marriage: History, Perceptions, and Benefits

This essay delves into the multifaceted topic of interracial marriage, examining its historical context, evolving societal perceptions, and the benefits it offers to couples, their children, and society at large. The essay begins by defining interracial marriage and acknowledging its historical sensitivity, discussing varying global perspectives on the subject, from outright opposition to complete acceptance. It explores how legal restrictions, such as those in the United States and South Africa, have shaped the landscape of interracial relationships. The essay further highlights the positive impacts of interracial marriage, including the enrichment of cultures, increased racial mobility, and the development of tolerance and understanding. It counters common misconceptions about marital challenges due to racial differences, emphasizing the opportunities for personal growth and cultural exchange. Moreover, it underscores the advantages for mixed-race children, such as enhanced cognitive abilities and broader worldviews. The essay concludes by asserting that interracial marriage is a societal asset, promoting communication, cooperation, and harmony, and advocating for its acceptance worldwide.

Running head: INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE
Interracial Marriage
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Interracial marriage is the concept of wedding where the bride and the groom do not
belong to the same race. From the past ages, the topic of interracial marriage has been a very
sensitive subject. People of different countries hold different views about the concept of
interracial marriage (Wang, 2015).
The opinion piece outlines the fact that interracial marriage constitutes a very
important arena in the vast field of sociology. It is a sociological topic worthy of elaborate
deliberation and exploration.
This article discusses a brief history about interracial marriage, the perceptions
regarding interracial marriage, how interracial marriage benefits the newlywed couples, the
children of mixed race unions and the society, at large.
The world is divided between three segments of people regarding approval for
interracial marriage. The first segment of people is totally against the concept of interracial
marriage. They believe that a culture or a race should not be diluted by wedding two persons,
who belong to different races. The second segment of people holds the belief that every
person is born equal and must have the right to wed a person irrespective of race. They
believe that true love transcends all the boundaries of race, color, caste and creed. The third
segment of people possesses a negligent attitude towards interracial marriage. They do not
care much about races. They put more value on the personality and the temperament of the
two persons, who are to be wedded. According to them, the subject of races in a marriage
should be left aside since the compatibility level of the two persons is the actual recipe of a
happy marital union and not the other way (Herman & Campbell, 2012).

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Interracial marriage was also prohibited in many countries including the United States
of America, Mexico and others. Previously, interracial marriage was outlawed in many
countries. South Africa was a prominent example (Barbarin & Richter, 2013). Interracial
marriage in America was pronounced as illegal until the result of the outcome of a very
famous legal case created major sensation in the year 1967. The famous case had an immense
effect on the prevailing racial situation in America. This in fact led to the passing and
enactment of many laws for the protection of the interracial couples. At present, interracial
marriage does not cause much ruckus in America, except in the rarest of the rarest cases in
the southern Bible belt (Hou & Myles, 2013). In the other continents, interracial marriage is
also gradually gaining affirmation. People have started to understand that instead of polluting
the sanctity of the races, interracial marriage helps in enriching it. Worldwide, many celebrity
couples also belong to different races and mixed races, thus setting a positive role model for
the public. In addition to this, the rapid increase in globalization has fuelled racial mobility.
Racial mobility leads to more occurrences of interracial marriages since people of different
races starts to take interest in cohabiting with each other.
People, who discourage interracial marriage, generally do so based on ignorance,
prejudiceness and intolerance. Undoubtedly, when people of different races decide to marry,
it is an inevitable fact that there is going to be some friction. There will be ethical, moral,
religious and cultural differences between the couples. Then, with love and patience, any
differences can be sorted out. It is rather a false perception that two people will fail to adjust
in a conjugal union due to racial differences, but racial difference is nothing but a difference
in the outlook or viewpoint of life. When one spouse has a certain style of living and
approaching the life, the other spouse also gets an opportunity to broaden his or her
perspective and become worldlier. Minor differences between the couples makes a marriage
more interesting instead of hampering it. Couples get to learn to see things in a new way.

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They also get the opportunity to learn about a new culture and its accompanying traditions.
Couples can also learn new languages. Being a bilingual or a trilingual can be very useful in
the future. All the above things help to keep a marriage appealing and fascinating (Kennedy,
2012).
Even the off springs of an interracial marriage also benefits from such an
extraordinary union. They are introduced to two different unique worlds, which makes them
more intelligent, understanding, flexible, tolerant and cosmopolitan as they grow up. Mixed
race children also tend to pursue higher education more than their non-mixed raced peers do.
Scientifically, it had also been proven that children of mixed genes also has lower chances of
developing cholesterol, diabetes and cardiology related diseases and tend to be taller and
stronger. Apparently, it can be said that children of mixed unions are more blessed than their
non-mixed counterparts (Williams, Sawyer & Wahlstrom, 2012).
Mixed race marriage also proves to be very advantageous for the society. The concept
of multiculturalism gets more widespread in the society due to the frequency of interracial
marriages. Racial intolerance and hatred are reduced to a minimal level. Harmful racial
profiling and segregation spreads unwanted aggression and hostility among the races. When
the numbers of interracial marriage increases, in an indirect sense, it makes the world a better
place to live (Lamanna, Riedmann & Stewart, 2014).
In the light of the above opinion piece, it can be concluded that interracial marriage is
not a curse but a blessing for the society. It helps to make the world a better and a happy
place to live. Many scholars are of the opinion that interracial marriage helps to spreads open
communication, cooperation and harmony among people. As a result, it would be of great

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value to the society if interracial marriage is embraced and accepted by all the countries and
societies of the world.

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REFERENCES
Barbarin, O. A., & Richter, L. M. (2013). Mandela's children: Growing up in post-apartheid
South Africa. Routledge.
Herman, M. R., & Campbell, M. E. (2012). I wouldn’t, but you can: Attitudes toward
interracial relationships. Social Science Research, 41(2), 343-358.
Hou, F., & Myles, J. (2013). Interracial marriage and status-caste exchange in Canada and the
United States. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36(1), 75-96.
Kennedy, R. (2012). Interracial intimacies: Sex, marriage, identity, and adoption. Vintage.
Lamanna, M. A., Riedmann, A., & Stewart, S. D. (2014). Marriages, families, and
relationships: Making choices in a diverse society. Cengage Learning.
Wang, W. (2015). Interracial Marriage: Who Is ‘Marrying Out’?. Pew Research Center, 19-
40.
Williams, B. K., Sawyer, S. C., & Wahlstrom, C. M. (2012). Marriages, families, and
intimate relationships. Pearson Higher Ed.