Latino & Interracial Relationships: Is There Still a Stigma?
Non-Hispanic and Hispanic interracial opposite-sex married couples are the most prominent of all interracial coupling, making up about 45 percent of such partnerships. Olivier Martinez and Halle Berry; Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault; and Derek Luke and Sophia Adella anre varying examples of Hispanics and Non-Hispanics in interracial relationships. While the trend of interracial couples is at an all-time high, there is still as a question as to whether they have become more acceptable, or if there is still a stigma associated with dating and marrying someone outside of la raza.
Since their nationwide legalization in 1967, interracial relationships have become more commonplace. The larger amount of interracial dating isn't reflected in the number of couples who marry, however -- though those numbers are increasing as well. In the United States, 1-in-every-10 couples are in an interracial pairing. However, only 7.4 percent of all marriages in the U.S. are between people of two different races or ethnicities.
56 percent of Latinos have dated someone outside of the race. 14.2% of married Hispanic women and 13.3% of married Hispanic men are involved with a non-Hispanic spouse. Also, Hispanic men are two-thirds more likely than black men to marry a white spouse; and Hispanic women are four times more likely than Black women to marry white men. This news does not surprise, considering that it has been established that Latinos comprise 45% of the interracial relationships. Though, it may surprise families when someone brings a white, black, or Asian man/woman home to dinner.
Some families won't mind a friendly new face -no matter what color it is. They'll smile, and mean it. They'll welcome the non-Latino into the fold and whisper recipes to him/her while forking cassava bread stuffing with longaniza onto their already overwhelmed plate.
And, other families won't understand, and they might make "harmless" yet offensive remarks that will upset the company. Sometimes, this isn't because the family member hasn't evolved; sometimes the remarks are provoked by ignorance and curiosity. Or, they might want to know why someone would want to shop outside of the race for a significant other when there seems to be so many good men and women available within the race. People who come from strict or extremely conservative backgrounds will find that their families won't be as accepting of those who are lenient and liberal.
Contemporary Families reported that interracial couples receive less familial support than same-race. These couples are also less likely to label the relationship, receive less social support, and less likely to show affection publicly.
Erika L. Sanchez wrote in an NBC article earlier this year, while there can be backlash when introducing someone of a different race to one's family, it's generally strangers who are more offended by interracial relationships. She wrote about a woman who once kissed her boyfriend, of a different race, in public, and saw that people physically reacted (gawked, stopped and starred).
Almost all millennials are accepting of interracial dating and marriage, 91% on average, according to Pew Research, which addresses the shift in public opinions regarding interracial dating, at least for young people.
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