Same Race Vs. Mixed Race Relationships

In the United States, same race relationships have been more common than interracial relationships. The reason for this is the limits people set themselves at by being hesitant to be involved seriously with another from a different race. It's all about comfort in a relationship, having things in common. Growing up it's a better chance to relate to people of the same race rather than another race because many people find comfort and reliability in partners who share physical characteristics as well as cultural and racial backgrounds.

Because of the intensity regarding black and white history, society has made interracial relationships focused more on these two races rather than others. The evil era of slavery and racism is what really separates these two races and makes black people feel intimidated to date a white person, Being comfortable is key in a relationship. It gives off a state of belief and ease that everything in the relationship will work out for the good.  has showed it’s easier to be around like minded individuals. For most people, it’s easier to communicate and be around people who have many similarities and most of the time them people are the same race. Every race comes from different backgrounds and sometimes different beliefs plays a big factor on the ability for people from different races to unite.

Location plays a factor on same race relationships being more common than interracial relationships too. Indeed everyone is raised differently depending on the lifestyle one can afford to live, however lots of races have a tendency to live fairly close to one another. For example, African Americans are minority and many grow up similar by being raised in a more ghetto neighborhood surrounded by poverty. Many blacks believe that only the African American race understands the struggle and that’s what relates the many people throughout the race. This is apart of the reason for the continuous awareness of the Black Lives Matter Movement with black people feeling their race aren’t getting the  equal amount of respect compared to white people. With this being said, black people along with other races can tend to limit themselves to only date people throughout their race because of the belief that only their race understands where they come from and can have a better chance to have a long, successful, relationship.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham found that socio-economic status significantly affects someone's choice with regards of relationships. Socio-economic status consists of one’s income, education, social class, profession and more. These researchers at University of Birmingham also did a survey that showed white people have a lower chance to find a partner outside their race because of their advanced social status compared to other races. There are more white people involved in essential aspects of the world such as politics, presidential candidates, and more compared to other races like African Americans and Asian Americans. In 2008, Jennifer Bratter and Rosalind King used the National Survey of Family Growth to investigate the likelihood of divorce for interracial couples compared to same race couples. The comparisons across different marriages showed that interracial couples have higher rates of divorce. Furthermore, these statistics showed that white/black marriages are twice as likely to divorce compared to white/white couples and white/asian marriages are 59% more likely to divorce compared to white/white marriages. The core reason for this stems from people’s contentedness of being with the same race and the inability to develop the needed when involved in an interracial relationship which makes it difficult for an interracial couple to last.

If couples and researchers stopped to think about it, they would realize that same race relationships are more common compared to interracial relationships not only because of being raised closely to people of the same race, but also the lack of desire and ability to develop comfort with another race, and because of prior history that may have separated the many different races. The barriers are not just psychological -- they are geographic and economic as well.

Works Cited:

Gladstone, Sarah. ""Swirling" vs. Same Race Relationships." Ravishly. Ravishly Organization, 23 Apr. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.ravishly.com/2015/09/07/swirling-vs-same-race-relationships-%E2%80%94-will-we-ever-reach-post-race-america>.

Wang, Wendy. "Interracial Marriage: Who Is ‘marrying Out’?" Pew Research Center RSS. FactTank, 12 June 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/12/interracial-marriage-who-is-marrying-out/>.