Essay Sample Focusing on Challenges to Interracial Marriages

Interracial marriage refers to a form of matrimony between people who come from different socially distinct races or ethnic groups. In certain parts of the globe, interracial marriages were outlawed, and it was not common for people from different racial backgrounds to intermarry. A good example was the United States of America before 1967 when the Supreme Court ruled out a case. Other examples of nations that did not interracial marriages include; Germany during the Nazi era and South Africa during the Apartheid times. Interracial marriages in the United States of America have been fully legalized, and any form of anti-miscegenation is considered unconstitutional. In the United States of America several ethnic groups and interracial marriages are prevalent.

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The history of interracial marriages can be traced back several decades ago when slave trade among other economic activities was made across nations, and it was necessary that different races of people had to travel across boundaries to do their business. Interaction began in the course of business and settlement quickly developed leading to mixed race settlement and eventually interracial marriages. The paper will, therefore, explore the challenges to interracial marriages.

Challenges to interracial marriages have become popular because the couples have to deal with bias and discrimination from either side of their lives. They have to deal with reality every day as people always have negative opinions about this kind of unions. Similarly, research indicates that a time the couples can have conflict when trying to embrace personal, cultural identities and they need to be keen on addressing their differences. Firstly, research has shown that one of the challenges to interracial marriages is opposition from family members. It happens in the case where the members dislike one's spouse or their ethnic, and they may not embrace and accept them in the family. It causes a lot of hate and negativity, and this dramatically affects the union of married couples.

Secondly, is the loss of contact and family that disapprove such kind of marriages and it may lead to isolation from the family, and in this case, the children born out of interracial marriages suffer because they might not get maximum interaction with their close family members. Additionally, interracial marriages face a lot of negative stereotyping as they are standardized based on individual ethnic backgrounds. They are identified according to what individual races practice, and in most cases, they are labeled based on the negative aspects of the particular community. Each person is not viewed as independent but regarding their ethnicity.

Similarly, people in interracial marriages go through a lot of open hostility and intimidation from the racial groups they are married. They are the spouse who joins the community through marriage is not readily accepted, and in most instances, they are harassed and intimidated even in public. In this regard, they always feel rejected and stigmatized because of their ethnicity. Children born out of this marriage also face the same stigma and hate from the community. Besides, persons from interracial backgrounds get derogatory comments in public as they are viewed as unfit and strangers in the land in which they live. The public tends to sideline them and abuse them because of their interracial marriages.

Furthermore, they are isolated and not involved in a lot of activities as they are considered outcasts and not part of the community. They are not given any aspect of belonging. Also, with the current era of technology people from interracial marriages tend to get a lot of insults and negative comments from the social media world even from strangers who do not know them in person. In some families, the married couples are disinherited because their families do not accept them unless they marry one of their own. Additionally, there can be problems during the celebration of cultural holidays because each person desires to celebrate according to their own culture and this may be a big challenge also to children as they will tear in between which cultural holiday to follow and embrace.

It is essential for the couples to manage their expectations early and not become overwhelmed by the love that they forget the challenges they might go through in the process of their union and even after they are married. In most cases, couples are carried away by the love and fail to factor in the challenges that might arise in their journey of marriage. They need to get prepared for the challenges and develop positive communication with each other so that they can handle the issues. Moreover, the couples need to know how to raise their children to protect them from negative comments from the society and family in case they are rejected. It will help children to counter the outside world because they will be familiar with their ethnic backgrounds and they will learn to embrace both sides.

In my view challenges to interracial marriages are real, but they can be managed to make unions exciting and enjoyable. When couples are married contrary to the expectations and norms of their communities, they need to be open to their families to find acceptance. When the challenges are highlighted early before the union it will be easy to handle all the concerns that may come after the marriage. Similarly, the couples need to have good communication to handle the challenges that may arise after they are married and having children who need to understand their differences. Besides, the couples need to firmly understand who they are a belief in themselves for them to have a strong bond despite the negative energy from the people around them. It is also necessary because it will help the children understand and believe in themselves.

On the contrary interracial marriages do not face any challenges because from the onset the couples are aware of their differences and before they settle they have a set plan on how best they can handle their issue. It is the best marriage that can ever happen because people from diverse backgrounds come together and learn about their different cultures. The wedding is unusual because it is an everyday learning journey from a partner who comes from different ethnic backgrounds. Children from such marriages will also be rich in culture as they have mixed blood from different races. Research indicates that children from such marriages tend to be open-minded and sharp as they have combined traits from both breeds. Similarly, interracial marriages work out quite well because each person in the relationship is aware of the difference of the other and they embrace them the way they are. In this regard respect becomes mutual, and the marriage bond grows strong. Additionally, interracial marriages do not face challenges as their friendship is based on love and when agreeing on marrying each other they aware of their differences but they cannot be separated by anything as the basis of their union is love.

In conclusion, it is important to note that interracial marriages face a lot of challenges, but when they are handled well, it is the best union. Some of the difficulties that interracial marriages go through include a lot of hate and negativity, and this dramatically affects the union of married couples. Also the loss of contact and family that disapprove such kind of marriages and it may lead to isolation from the family. Besides, persons from interracial backgrounds get insulting comments in public as they are viewed as unfit and strangers in the land in which they live. Interracial marriages face a lot of negative stereotyping as they are standardized based on individual ethnic backgrounds. Regardless of all these challenges, interracial marriages can be the best if there is understanding from the beginning. The families of both sides get to embrace the union of their children and this way they will be able to handle other people. It is, however, important to note that interracial marriages face a lot of challenges and if they are not adequately dealt with weddings can easily break. If the couples yield to the pressure from the outside world, they can have an awkward moment in their marriage, and they may end up separating or separating because of too much criticism from the people around them.

Works Cited

Craig-Henderson, Kellina. Black Men in Interracial Relationships: What's Love Got to Do with It?. Routledge, 2017.

Grewal, Zareena A. "Marriage in color: race, religion and spouse selection in four American mosques." Gender, Race, and Religion. Routledge, 2014. 119-141.

Lewis, Richard. "Status of interracial marriage in the united states: A qualitative analysis of interracial spouse perceptions." Intel J. Soc. Sci. Stud. 2 (2014): 16.

Martin, Brittny A., et al. "Intimate partner violence in interracial and monoracial couples." Family relations 62.1 (2013): 202-211.

Wanhalla, Angela. Matters of the heart: A history of interracial marriage in New Zealand. Auckland University Press, 2013.