The impact of International Cultural marriage to

childrens identity

By:

Angela Yi An Loe 11 Science 1

SEKOLAH CIPUTRA HIGH SCHOOL

SURABAYA

2015

Research Questions:
1. What is international cultural marriage?
2. How international cultural marriage impact to childrens identity.
3. To what extend the international cultural marriage showed up the childrens identity.

Background Cases
In today's rapidly globalization, marriage across borders are not an unfamiliar phenomenon anymore,
yet it happened frequently and contribute essentially to international movability and international
engagement. Marriage as a contract between 2 people based on commitment or love is increasingly
considered as a norm. In reality, marriage needs to involve in complicated decision-making and
numerous considerations. In some societies such as Asian societies, being married or staying, for men
and women is a social and family agreement/commitment. There are various different kinds of issues
that can be found in international married couples, include to those, that related to cultural and
citizenship, which increase the challenges and complicated to these relationships. Multiracial
children and teenagers such as in the U.S is growing swiftly with 32% in 21st century compared to
before. U.S is now one of the largest demographic groups with multiracial children among the
citizens under the age of 18 years old. This huge growth is caused by increasing of international
cultural marriage or as known as translational marriage and relationships, as well as the increase of
international adoptions. However, regardless of some changes in the laws and the development of
social attitudes, there found many issues impacted to childrens identity.

Theory & Material

International affair
According to Cambridge Dictionaries Online, International affair is defined as the events or an
activity

involving

politics,

economy,

government

and

etc

of

different

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/business-english/international-affairs

countries.

the

affairs

between nations International affairs or it could be called as International relations is the study of
somewhat relationships between countries and the roles of the International non-governmental
organizations (INGO), inter-governmental organizations (IGO), and Multinational corporations.
Beside political science, field of international affairs or relations draws intellectual elements; from
the fields of physcology, economy, history, international law, sociology, technology, gender studies,
criminology and etc. The capacity of international affairs understands or dealing with diplomatic
relations, globalizations, nationalism, global finance, economic development as well as organized
crime or terrorism, human rights and others that is related with international affairs.

International cultural marriage

A transnational marriage or can be called International cultural marriage is marriage between two
people from different countries or having different citizenship. There are various different kinds of
issues that can be found in international married couples, include to those, that related to cultural and
citizenship, which increase the challenges and complicated to these relationships. There are obstacles
that are often happened worldwide and some are exceptional. It is where the ethnics are divided into
many sovereign states, which shared same citizenship that is separated by borders (decolonization).
International marriage does not necessarily assume different cultures. In modern time of
globalization, where many people are growing to have affairs or relationship to the networks of
people and various places across the world, to conclude many people are doing transnational
marriage, marrying across the national borderline (boundaries).

Caption: Multiracial marriages have been rising dramatically. In 1960 (before federal statistics
enumerated Hispanics and before the 1965 legislation that opened up immigration to more
countries) multiracial marriages constituted only 0.4 percent of all U.S. marriages. That gure
increased to 3.2 percent in 1980 and to 8.4 percent in 2010. More than one in seven newlywed
couples are now multiracial.

Childrens Multiracial Identity

Multiracial children are one of the rapid growing divisions of worldwide population such as Asia,
America, Australia and Europe. The number of multiracial families in worldwide is steadily growing
rapidly, caused by the rise of international marriage as well as known as translational marriage.
Despite of some changes in laws and social attitudes, many multiracial children still faced different
several of issues. Multiracial children, teenagers and families are often experienced with many types
of discrimination and assaults. Among the types, multiracial people are often been excluded from a
community because of their multiracial status. Not only that but, third culture kids also have a similar
problem as multiracial children. Immigrants also take their children with them and live in another

country and grow in different lands, learning new and different culture and they remain being
outsider in their home country than in their host country. Third culture kids often feels affection to
those who also lived in more than one culture like them and tend to having relationship with them
rather than learning new culture with the people in the country. Among American children, the
multiracial population has increased almost 50 percent, to 4.2 million, since 2000, making it the
fastest growing youth group in the country. The number of people of all ages who identified
themselves as both white and black soared by 134 percent since 2000 to 1.8 million people,
according to census data released Thursday.

Research has shown that children with a true

multinational identity mostly grew up happily rather than children or teenagers who grew up with
single-race

identity,

according

to

http://www.aacap.org/aacap/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/
Multiracial_Children_71.aspx

Caption: The pattern of multiracial identification is similar to that of intermarriage (as the table
above shows): Asians and Latinos report much higher rates of multiracial identification than blacks.
In 2010, 15% of Asians and 12% of Latinos reported a multiracial identification. The corresponding
figure for blacks is only 7 percent. Although the rate of multiracial reporting among blacks has risen
since 2000, it increased from a very small base of only 4.2 percent.

Discussion
International cultural marriage happened when a person from a country to live or visits another
country for work, school or due to family migrate. There are many different or various kinds of
reasons of intercultural marriage such as, visitor from another country attracted to a citizen of that
country, arranged marriage, work and etc. There are also the obstacles of intercultural marriage that
are, languages, cultures (learning different traditions and norms) and citizenship (spouse must change
citizenship). Today, theres mixed reactions to intercultural marriages in some areas and it continues
to spreads. Family reunification policies have disappointed some people in the host countries as

people less comprehend if they continue to marry from their home country, hence keeping their
culture alive in the host country. Other are still suspicious of intercultural marriage as they thought
that non-citizen spouse may use their marriage to acquire legal status in the host country. There are
much of problems such as legal barriers in intercultural marriage, as well being allowed to stay living
together in the same country.
Currently, it is not easy to have intercultural marriage. There are many barriers, for example in
Indonesia it is very burdensome if the husband is not the citizen of Indonesia. As a result the
developing of International cultural marriage, the policy makers in different countries are beginning
to consider more whether they should encourage or discourage the international cultural marriage.
The reasons for discouraging international cultural marriages are:
-

Children or the spouses cannot adjust well, loyal or devoted to the new country
False marriages happened to gain the citizenship and can charged human trafficking
The reasons for encouraging international cultural marriages are:

Helps relationship between countries by building up contact or trade

Reconnects the extended person or families with similar backgrounds
Increasing of international cultural marriages
Children and teenagers may have benefit from developing a positive side of their multiracial identity
with adults shows unified multiracial identity helps physocological well being. Children or teenagers
in a multiracial family have different kinds of racial from one to another and their physical features,
experiences with racial groups and family support and attachment, influence the identity. About 2
million children in America have parents with different identity races. The multiracial children in a
divorced family will faced many problems by accepting the cultures of his/her parents. Immigrants
also may take their family and children, growing in different land, different cultures, and dont feel
comfortable in the host country than their home country. It is called third culture children, and tends
to feel affection and marry people with diverse backgrounds despite of nationality and citizenship.

Conclusion
Making effort for international cultural marriage takes lot of of strength and commitment. In many
different cultures men and women have the same basic rights and responsibilities and it would
influence the role in an international cultural marriage. Communication is very essential in
international cultural marriage; it is not easy caused by language barrier. Learning and cope with new
culture, socializing so that theres no language barrier or feeling left out from the community.
Some international, multiracial families faced many issues related with discrimination in their
communities. Children or teenagers from the multiracial families may feel uncomfortable due to the
report gossips, teasing, bullying, stares and whispers. In conclusion, mostly parents are the solution
to cope with the difficulties and pressure by having an open communication or discussion about
cultures and races. Parents can also assist their children in the following ways:
-

Helping children coping and handle with questions about their family backgrounds and dealing with

racism without feeling being assaulted.

Give support to multicultural life for the whole family including; become intimate with the language,

customs and traditions of the family members.

Live in diverese community where the impression of being unacceptable is decreased.
The majority of multiracial youth, which grows up to correlates with multiple races and cultures is
very rewarding and devoted to healthy adult adjustments.

References
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(2015).

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[online]

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