People always talk about the rise in interracial dating and interracial marriages. In fact most studies usually predict that in years to come, more and more people will date and marry interracially.
Katie Xiao is an immigrant from China who has been living in America since she was 4. She has always considered herself to be Americanized. As far as interracial dating is concerned, she has dated White men and Latino men before but the subtle cultural clashes that led to very bad break-ups made her realize how Chinese she is and she now wants to meet an Asian man. She has even started attending events organized for Asian Americans and immigrants to increase her chances.
Recently, Sociologists began studying how children of immigrants in the U.S. will date and marry. Much as the generation of today is more open-minded and open to interracial dating and marriage, contrary to conventional wisdom, scholars have noticed a decline in the rate of interracial marriages among immigrants.
According to Ohio State University sociologist Zhenchao Qian, the numbers fell from 27 to 20 percent for Hispanics and 42 to 33 percent for Asians from 1990 to 2000 - and the downward trend continued through to last year. Apparently, most single immigrants in their 20s and 30s are now turning to cultural events because they suddenly have a yearning to connect with someone they share the same roots with.
Bhavna Pandit a political consultant of Indian descent says much as most people try to rebel against their parents and run away from their traditions, now that she is 29, she cares about her heritage and wants to find an Indian man which has been hard for her since there are very few of them in Capitol Hill.
After following children of immigrants in New York as they navigated adulthood, researchers found that they always struggled with the desire to being open to interracial dating and people of all backgrounds against family expectations and their own desire to sustain their culture. Most of them want to marry someone within their own ethnicity … someone who understands their life story.
Will this threaten interracial dating and interracial marriage in the future?
Ria Rodriguez is a writer and regular blogger for http://www.InterracialDatingCentral.com on all topics to do with relationships and dating in an interracial world. Ria is of mixed race origins and brings a fun and unique perspective on multicultural dating topics.
