Multifaceted Identity of Interethnic Young People by Sultana Choudhry

Author:Sultana Choudhry [Choudhry, Sultana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138250956
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2016-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

Would Participants Form an Interethnic Relationship Again?

Theoretical proposition 9: Participants would make the same decision again to form relationships with someone of a different ethnicity

Finally, all the participants were asked if they had any regrets about being in or having formed a relationship with someone of another ethnicity, and whether they would form such a relationship again. Most said that they had no regrets and would make the same choice again – including those who had experienced problems with their relationships. Also they reported being happy and proud of having children of dual ethnic heritage. Two of the participants’ relationships had ended, and they were unsure whether they would form a relationship with someone of a different ethnicity again. A few said that given the things they had been through they were not sure whether they would have ‘the courage’ to do it again. They were also asked if there was anything they would like to change about their relationship and the common replies were that they did not. Some, however, stressed that they would like to change the negative response of their families, the community and society to their interethnic relationship and (for a few) their children:

We’re very happy in our marriage; I don’t think I would have been as happy if I’d chosen anyone else. Fifteen years on, we’re still madly in love. We have beautiful children who are doing well. The only thing I’d like to change would be the way people react to mixed marriages, not much has changed since we first got married, people still stare at us on the street, and we still get things said about it sometimes. [Phillipa]

People were also asked questions on the impact of interethnic children in society. On the whole, some felt that their interethnic children might result in a society with less racial conflict because they thought that their children appreciated other cultures better than any other individuals. They hoped that (as also argued by some assimilation theorists, see literature review), more people forming interethnic relationships would lead to greater acculturation. The account below is illustrative of the type of narratives provided by these participants:

More people should get married to people from other races; everyone would mix more and appreciate other cultures more. I know from my children’s attitudes and the things that they’ve said that they really appreciate and try to understand other cultures because they themselves are from two different cultures […] hopefully that will mean that when they grow up we’ll have a society that’s more racially tolerant. [Sita]

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