When we find someone we adore, sometimes our brains don’t immediately think about certain things – race, religion, and culture.
Interracial relationships are more accepted than they were decades ago, even though they have always existed.
There are more people willing to accept interracial relationships today compared to decades ago.
In the Western world, countries have reputations for being open-minded and inclusive, but barriers for interracial people still exist.
Removing the taboo from interracial relationships is still a battle.
Two interracial couples I spoke to shared that even though they love their relationship, there are definitely challenges that come with being in an interracial relationship.
The relationship can be exhausting but reminding each other of their mutual love helps alleviate the stress.
The two couples shared that they enjoy speaking to interracial couples more than non-interracial couples because they all felt it’s difficult to understand their struggles unless one is experiencing it first-hand.
An anonymous (South Asian – Muslim) woman who is in her 20s and her significant other (Indigenous/Jamaican – Christian) has been in a relationship for two years.
“Even, when meeting others, rarely do people ever assume that we are together. This can be upsetting. It is sometimes the overly shocked reactions that we deal from others,” she said.
“One of the comments we always hate hearing is about ‘’how pretty your girlfriend is for a brown girl.”
Some of their biggest worries are about whether their families will accept their relationship, how they will raise children together in a future with different religious and cultural beliefs, and difficult discussions regarding racism.
Interracial couples are seen as rebellious in some Asian cultures.
A myth worth fighting is interracial couples are assumed to only exist for fetishes.
Despite these ideas, there are so many beautiful things in interracial relationships that are overlooked.
They get to learn a lot of new things especially about another culture, their children are more likely to be open-minded, and they are able to see the world from a different perspective.
An anonymous (Korean – Muslim) male who is in his early 30s with his significant other (Latino – Catholic) remarked that “It isn’t what my parents ever expected but we have been in a happy marriage for ten years.”
Race isn’t everything – we’re still humans at the end of the day, and we have so many things in common with each other. Interracial relationships are in consistent need of advocacy. At the end of the day, I think it is all about educating each other. Education is always key to a progressive society.
