Interracial

Marriages &
Families
Analysis
With a functionalist and conflict
point of view

Cindy Clarissa

History of Interracial Marriages in America

Discuss the history of your institution. How did it emerge? How did it come into existence?
In 1950, marrying a person of a different race was illegal in 29 states. According to Census data, while
90% of the married people in USA were White and 8% were Black, Blacks and Whites made up only
0.1% of all marriages.
Interracial marriage has a long controversial; It was not until the 1967 US Supreme Court decision in
Loving vs Virginia , that interracial marriages became legal in the U.S.
However, the progressive views of young Americans suggest that the country is likely to become even
more open-minded about intermarriage. In 2014, 85% of Americans between the age of 18 and 29
responded that they would accept a family member marrying a person of a different race or
ethnicity, compared to just 38% of those 65 or over.
https://priceonomics.com/why-is-interracial-marriage-on-the-rise/

Who Marries
out?
Who are the major participants in the institution?
What are their roles and statuses?
Some racial groups are more likely to intermarry
than others. Of the 3.6 million adults who got
married in 2013, 58% of American Indians, 28% of
Asians, 19% of blacks and 7% of whites have a
spouse whose race was different from their own.
Women are slightly more likely to marry out than
men in this group: 61% of American Indian female
newlyweds married outside their race, compared
with 54% of American Indian male newlyweds.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/12/interracialmarriage-who-is-marrying-out/

The generation of mixed ethnicities have

mixed feelings
How do members of the institution perceive itself (its own institution)?

The Census Bureau has predicted that non-Hispanic whites will become outnumbered in
America by as early as 2044. [But why arent the rates decreasing?]
Well, a fair fraction of people with Asian or Hispanic heritage actually consider themselves exclusively white or black.
Even though the government allows multiple checks on boxes for your race and identity.
If people who are part-Asian or part-Hispanic stop identifying that way, they would disappear from the statistics. What
we think we know about Hispanics may be wrong because a lot of people with Hispanic heritage don't consider
themselves Hispanic.
Interestingly, daughters of interracial couples are more likely to say they are multiracial.
On the contrary, in 2014, 37% of Americans said having more people of different races marrying each other was a
positive thing for the society (24% four years earlier). Only 9% said this trend was a negative thing for society, and
51% said it doesnt make much difference.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/17/mixed-marriages-are-changing-the-way-we-think-about-our-race/ ,
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/12/interracial-marriage-who-is-marrying-out/ , http://time.com/4195141/daughtersof-interracial-couples-are-more-likely-to-say-they-are-multiracial/

Functionalist Point of View of Marriages and Interracial

Marriages
From the functionalist point of view, the institution of the family helps meet the needs of its members and contributes
to the stability of the society at large.
1.

2.

3.

Interracial Marriages provide a slight change in structure in which children can be produced and raised.
a.

Marriages ensures biological reproduction of the next generation without which society cannot continue.

b.

However, mixed race childrens can change the societys cultural standpoint.

Marriages affect the emotions of people which ultimately affect the overall being of a society.
a.

Marriages provide a stable satisfaction of the sex drive within monogamous relationships.

b.

The sexual relations can be in some way regulated so that people can fulfill their sexual desires without
causing conflict.

c.

Having another person gives people a way to feel loved and to feel a sense of belonging.

Marriages can increase the benefits of living.

a.

Sharing a house or car will save money.

b.

Being married causes less taxes to be taken out.

Social Change Functionalism

Although marriages in general has a
positive outcome, interracial
marriages still struggle in America.
A father was accused of kidnapping
his three daughters just because they
didnt look like him.
Interracial marriages causes a social
change which will affect the society
as a whole. It may be abnormal to see
mixed families now, but the
percentage of them will grow higher
and there will be a forced change in
the entire society.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz18BgAZVdA

Father Accused of Kidnapping His Biracial Kids

Interracial Couples & Divorce

Interracial marriages have a 41 percent chance of swirling out of control. Compare this to a 31 percent
chance of divorce among same-race couples.
The probability of divorce by the 10th year of marriage, relative to White/White unions, are as follows:
White Wife & Asian Husband 59 percent more likely to divorce in comparison to same-race white
couples
White Wife & Black Husband 50 percent more likely to divorce
Asian Wife & White Husband 4 percent more likely to divorce
Black Wife & White Husband 44 percent less likely to divorce.
The percentage of divorces for most interracial couples are higher; which creates a dysfunctional
structure in the society since having a stable society is their goal for the society.

http://madamenoire.com/432922/swirl-interracial-couples-america-numbers/

Conflict Theory Point of View

Conflict theory states that tensions and conflicts arise when resources, status, and power are unevenly distributed
between groups in society, and that these conflicts become the engine for social change.
1. Marxists argue that the nuclear family performs ideological functions for Capitalism.
a. The family acts as a unit of consumption and teaches passive acceptance of hierarchy.
b. The institution through which the wealthy pass down their private property to their children, thus
reproducing class inequality.
c. There is a power struggle within the family. Most of the time, the person who makes the most money in
the family has more power on making decisions.
2. Marriage and family, as practiced in our society, tend to subjugate women to some degree.
a.

Women are thought to be weaker (physically and mentally) and therefore should make less money than men.

b.

The struggle over who does housework, for example, is a struggle over limited resources of time, energy, and
leisure.

c.

Different races may have different religions, which can lead to a conflict between what they think the men and
women role should be in the family

Income of Interracial Couples

Does your institution work better for some members of society (as opposed to others)?
According to Pew Research Trends, White and Asian newlyweds have the highest combined income
compared to any other pairing, even including non-interracial marriages, with a median of $70,952. And
heres the median income of all marriage combos in America:
White & Asian $71,000
Asian & Asian $62,000
White & White $60,000
White & Hispanic $57,900
White & Black $53,187
Black & Black $47,700
Hispanic & Hispanic $36,000
http://madamenoire.com/432922/swirl-interracial-couples-america-numbers/

There is inequality among different

kinds of interracial families income.
Which can be a problem based on the
conflict theory since they promote a
equality based on resources, power,
and status.

Mildred and Richard Loving changed the

Society
Conflict Theory doesnt always view interracial
couples as a bad thing. In fact, during July 11,
1958, Mr. and Mrs. Loving was in of the 24 states
that prohibited interracial couples. They were in
Virginia where they were convicted as a felony for
being with one another.
But soon after, they approached American Civil
Liberties Union to fight their case in court in 1963
to allow interracial couples to get married.
The struggle for power switched to favor the
minorities. History has made a turn and the last law
officially prohibiting interracial marriage was
repealed in Alabama in 2000!

http://www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/interracial-marriagerelationships/#.V_m47Mf_7dk

Resources
1.
2.

Kopf, Dan. Why Is Interracial Marriage on the Rise?" Priceonomics. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.
Gedeon, Kimberly. "All About The Swirl, Baby! Interracial Couples In The United States . . . By The Numbers."
MadameNoire RSS. N.p., 20 June 2014. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.

3.

Wang, Wendy. "Interracial Marriage: Who Is marrying Out?" Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., 12 June 2015. Web.
08 Oct. 2016.

4.

"Mixed Marriages Are Changing the Way We Think about Our Race." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d.
Web. 08 Oct. 2016.

5.

Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz18BgAZVdA. ABC News, n.d. Web.

6.

"Interracial Relationships That Changed History." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.

7.

"Daughters of Interracial Couples Are More Likely To Say They Are Multiracial." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 09 Oct.
2016. <http://time.com/4195141/daughters-of-interracial-couples-are-more-likely-to-say-they-are-multiracial/>.