Winter
Quarter 2014
Blog Question #
8
In conducting a
textual analysis of Smith and Hattery’s book: Interracial Relationships in the 21st Century, many social
issues come under investigation as they influence interracial and inter-faith couples. Examples of relevant issues are
attraction, family, religion, lesbian and gay male couples creating a different
marriage and family paradigm, mixed-race children, domestic violence, etc. After viewing a YouTube presentation on
the value of qualitative research in sociology below:
Choose a significant issue in studying inter-faith and interracial dating and mating patterns. Create a guiding research question informing the field of straight and gay interracial and inter-faith relationships.
I think an intriguing issue that I would like to see or do research about is that of couples with differing physical or mental ability, particularly diagnosable disparities. This phenomenon was not covered in the text (Interracial Relationships in the 21st Century).
ReplyDeleteSome guiding research questions:
How does physical ability or inability affect the overall dynamic of a romantic relationship? What types of dependencies arise? What are the difficulties of each partner, and how do they adjust? Are there benefits that result from the disparity?
How does mental ability or inability affect the overall dynamic of a romantic relationship?
How does each partner cope? How does a noted difference of intellectual and/or emotional capacity affect romantic chemistry? Are there benefits that result in the disparity?
I think it would be interesting to focus in on how media and society in general promote or disapprove of interracial dating using specific examples.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the biggest challenges people in interracial couples face? What is society doing to promote interracial dating and/or what is society doing to create more challenges? How does the media help or challenge interracial couples?
I think an intriguing issue that should be explored through research is how interracial or interfaith couples cope with their own differences and opposition from their families, the society around them and even themselves. Many couples say that they are supportive of their significant other's culture and differences, but how far does that go and will they maintain this support in the face of opposition? Although we've discussed how couples can deal with opposition toward their interracial relationship in class, I want explore this issue even further by analyzing what actions an interracial couple with take to preserve their relationship and how supportive they are of one another's differences.
ReplyDeleteWith this an issue such as this, there are many possible questions to ask. Here are some possible guiding research questions:
How can an interracial or interfaith couple make the effort to show appreciation of one another’s differences in ethnicity, culture or religion? More importantly, how can they come to terms with one another if there is an existing conflict between their religions, ethnicities or cultures? Will they make the effort to compromise if their families and communities are unsupportive? Is it worth it to continue pursuing an interracial or interracial relationship if an interracial or interfaith couple receives too much disapproval and opposition? How willing will a couple be to set aside these differences to preserve their love?
How do ethnophaulisms and racism affect the interracial relationship as a whole? Will a couple be willing to confront those who use hurtful language against them or will they chose to ignore these issues to avoid conflict? How supportive will a partner be if their significant other is being treated poorly by others in public? Will they stand aside or will they step in to protect their partner? Would choosing to view their relationship with racial colorblindness be beneficial to an interracial couple if they wish to avoid conflict? Are there benefits or drawbacks to taking this approach?
I think that exploring the effects social media and the opinion of the public on interracial dating. The media is such an important aspect of society today that it has achieved significant influence on the rates of interfaith and interracial couples in the United States. Some questions I would ask are:
ReplyDelete1. How do television shows and movies that feature interracial couples influence the public to also explore interracial dating.
2. As interracial celebrity couples become more common, do you think interracial dating among the public will also increase?
An issue that I believe should be explored through research is: How interracial and interfaith couples build a positive and constructive relationship when they are both part of contrasting and contradictory cultures? An example of this could be when a devout Muslim tries to a form a relationship with a devout Catholic. Another example is if someone with a Palestinian background tries to pursue a relationship with someone who comes from a Jewish upbringing. There are many problems that these couples would have to face and overcome, how do and how have these couples done this in the past? How do they continue to?
ReplyDeleteI find it challenging to formulate a specific sociological research question because I feel when one question is asked there is always a plethora of inquiries inspired in its wake. Sociology is not a linear, absolute field and therefore when asking guided research questions one has to be aware and open to the inevitable branched, convoluted nature of their studies.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, when I read this post I immediately thought of pursuing a question related to the fate of culture as we know it. More specifically, I am curious in researching the preservation of cultures in an increasing global melting pot.
First and for mostly, if culture is in its nature ever-evolving is it even rational/ worth wild to discuss preserving the cultures of today? After all, the cultures we are currently experiencing are products of centuries of alterations and similar phases of mixing and diffusion. So, who’s to say cultural changes are detrimental?
However, even change itself is ever-changing and therefore, the change cultures are undergoing today is inevitably different than in the past. Many would argue that although culture has been evolving for centuries, today’s specific trends are truly leading to the end of all culture distinctions. This leads me to wonder how one would go about preserving a culture, while not resorting to racist, extremist, or hostile tactics? Are there certain elements of cultures which should be regarded as more important to save than others? This then boils down the question of the relationship between freedom and tradition.
This research question is evidently directly related to multiracial and homosexual relationships because social interactions are both the cause and effect of cultural changes.
I feel an interesting issue to explore is how the decision for mixed-raced children influences interracial relationships. I feel the decision to have children in a relationship would necessitate many cultural compromises, and it would be interesting to see how this would influence decisions for long term committed interracial relationships.
ReplyDeleteSome questions I would ask would be:
1. How would the interracial couple, as parents, help the child fairly create their own cultural identity?
2. How would compromises be made on important decisions on how to raise the child? (ex: Such as on religious views)
3.How did the decision to have children change the dynamics of the interracial relationship?
Lauryn Hayashi
ReplyDeleteI feel that interfaith relationships are not as publicized as interracial relationships and would like to see more research being done. I would love to further explore how different religions feel about interfaith relationships and the origins of these beliefs. Some additional questions about interfaith relationships could be:
What are some benefits and challenges to interfaith relationships? Do you think the media should actively promote interfaith relationships? Why do you think there is opposition against interfaith relationships? Which religions do you feel are the most opposed to interfaith relationships and why?
An interesting issue to be explore through research is how interfaith couples deal with opposition. I think that because interfaith relationships are not as evident in the public's eye, it would be interesting to see how interfaith couples cope with opposition from the strangers perspective because it is definitely more visually obvious when there is an interracial relationship in comparison to an interfaith relationship.
ReplyDeleteSome potential questions include How interfaith relationships are portrayed in the media, the opposition they face and the differences between their opposition in comparison to interracial relationships. In addition, how does being in an interfaith relationship differ from interracial relationship in the public's eye.
My question would be: How likely are the children of an inter-faith couple to be religious themselves, and which religion are they more likely to choose?
ReplyDeleteThis question intrigues me because I haven't seen a lot of research that's been done on kids in a mixed religion household. In my own experience, it seems that children who are raised without religion as a part of their lives tend not to become religious. Children who are raised in a highly religious way tend to either become devoutly religious or reject their faith entirely. I am curious how these dynamics would play out when the mother and father are of different faiths. Also, I would ask whether the children of interfaith households are more likely to change religions at some point than other children.
An interesting point of view to analyze would be those of the mixed race or multicultural progeny of interracial or intercultural relationships. Interracial and interfaith children are often forced to acknowledge the effect of their parents’ decision and seeing their consequent course of actions would help to understand the social stigma or benefit associated with dating and mating across cultural bounds from a first-person point of view.
ReplyDeleteExamples of research questions include:
• How often do mixed race children themselves date interracially? What factors in their childhood and upbringing may cause the result?
• How often do interfaith children themselves date interracially? What factors in their childhood and upbringing may cause the result?
I would be interested in how desire for socio-economic advancement affects willingness to date and mate interracially.
ReplyDeletePremise: Interracial Relationships in the 21st Century mentioned in the last chapter that interracial relationships among black women and white men can lead to acquisition of social and economic capital in society; (i.e. since white men own the majority of small businesses in the US, interracial marriage can provide the opportunity for black women to become a partner in a small business) We also discussed how sometimes among Asian Americans, marrying Caucasians can be seen as a step up because of the opportunities it opens to acquiring both social and economic capital?
Some research questions would be:
To what extent do interracial relationships between a white partner and a partner in a minority group allow for economic upward mobility as well as greater social capital on the part of the minority partner in contemporary society today? Is the desire for socio-economic advancement a determining factor for minorities who date and mate interracially? How accurately does acquisition of social capital play out in same-sex interracial relationships with the prevailing social stigma of homosexuality and discrimination prevalent in today's society?
I believe that a significant issue in inter-faith dating patterns is how each individual religion influences the success of individuals with that religion dating someone of another faith. (For example, will the issues created in a relationship between a Catholic and a Buddhist be similar to the issues in a relationship between a Muslim and an Atheist?)
ReplyDeleteResearch questions could be centered around asking participants what faith they are, what religion their past or present partners are, and the issues that they have faced or are facing in their relationship.
This interests me because it seems to me that there are religions that might be more difficult to create an inter-faith relationship around than others, and I am curious if this hypothesis would stand up to a research study.
Arkadip and I presented on interracial dating between homosexual couples a few weeks ago. The author raised a question in the chapter asking why lesbian couples were less studied in interracial dating and mating.
ReplyDeleteBecause of this reading, I believe an issue in studying interracial and inter-faith dating and mating is the lack of representation among interracial and interfaith homosexual couples, specifically lesbian couples. The complex relationship that they undergo in terms of changing the paradigm of marriage, discussing bounds in religion, and race is something that is understudied. A more focused vector of study would be the tensions homosexual couples face when deciding how they raise their interracial children.
A potential guiding question to lead researchers may be:
How does raising a child in both a non-traditional family paradigm of a homosexual couple and interracial relationship affect the dynamics of the family and, more specifically, the child?
In our course, we have talked some about the data presented in the book and through other sources, and how we must be careful interpreting this data. One thing that I thought may prevent data from telling the full story is the fact that ethnic enclaves exist in many parts of the United States, where there are concentrations of a large majority of one race. This makes interracial dating practically impossible in these areas. However, when seen in the form of percentages on paper, it leads one to believe there is a problem with acceptance of interracial relationships since so few exist in our nation. My question is whether the low percentages are truly due to racism and/or a lack of acceptance of interracial relationships, or if they can be significantly attributed to social/geographical barriers presented by ethnic enclaves. Specifically, how does the amount of interracial relationships in ethnically diverse areas compare to the same statistic pooled from areas with natural tendencies towards ethnic separation or high densities of only one race? Although I think there is still a problem with acceptance of interracial relationships, it would be interesting to see if the issue is as bad as it seems or if acceptance is higher than portrayed, but halted by a lack of diversity in many areas.
ReplyDeleteAn intriguing concept that I would like to see further explored might be how interracial couples overcome opposition and negativity that they receive from their families, and in what ways does this impact the relationship between the two individuals, if at all? I find this to be an important question as in many cases, individuals highly value their families opinions, and opposition from family significantly contributes to complications within the relationship, whether this be through religion or cultural values. Supplemental questions may be: To what extent does family play a role in the relationship between two individuals? To what extent would individuals allow opposition from family to become an obstacle in the relationship? Why does this opposition persist? We have noted that as time continues, current generations are expected to be more accepting of interracial relationships. If opposition continues from family, however, what are the reasons that will continue to persist despite the newer generation?
ReplyDeleteOne topic that I have always found interesting is the presence and representation in media, specifically films, of couplings between people who self-identify as belonging to the LGBTQIA community. The theories and concepts that I have studied in this seminar and in my Women and Gender Studies 50 class have further sparked my interest in this topic and inspired me to ask some questions. One guiding research questions could be:
ReplyDeleteHow do dominant cultures and power structures (specifically within the world of filmmaking) affect the representations of LGBTQIA couples in films?
One specific issue that I have noticed is that many of the earliest films featuring gay and lesbian storylines focused primarily on the coming-out stories of the characters. However, according to my film viewing, films are starting to explore other aspects of gay and lesbian characters rather than treating their sexualities, specifically their coming-out stories, as the main parts of their lives to be represented on screen. Another guiding research question might be:
Have films that represent coming-out stories as the main storylines for gay and lesbian characters contributed to viewers perceiving LGBTQIA people as one-dimensional, with their “gayness”, for example, being the most significant aspect of their identities?
I always found the idea of how women in interracial relationships were treated by the public and media in comparison to their partners. What sparked my interest was hearing from one of the peer presentations in the class an example of a European American woman walking around in public with her African American boyfriend. As the woman was trying on pairs of sunglasses a older woman walked up to her and remarked “Are you trying on those glasses to see what color your boyfriend really is?” or something along these lines. It struck me as odd, because learning about how racialized our culture is and how prevalent white privilege is in our society, why the white partner was criticized rather than the black partner, which is what you would expect. Also, as Pasha talked about in our class presentation, there were people who thought that African American women should date interracially with white men for business purposes or to retaliate against African American men, instead of the reverse thinking about why white men should date African American women. It makes me think about how is gender an influence in the way that people look at interracial dating? My research question would be just that:
ReplyDeleteHow do gender identities affect the way people dating interracially are perceived? Is it true that the trend I noticed in the examples above about how women are more criticized when they are dating men of other cultures than their male partners, regardless of their race? How is this seen in lesbian relationship between female-indentifying partners?
One of the most interesting claims the book has made is that "race shapes the type of violence that partners experience." I definitely think that the issue of intimate partner violence needs to be explored much more than a survey. I think an interesting question to research would be to see if that belief really holds true for people, across age, race, and ethnicity.
ReplyDeleteA (hopefully) ethical way to do this would be to provide participants with accounts of abuse (of varying forms) from the perspectives of women of different races, and see how respondents rate themselves as feeling bad for the women. Then researchers could see if there are any differences in these ratings across race. Another way might be to provide participants with an account but not the race or name (since names can potentially give away race or ethnicity) of the woman and ask the participant what race the woman probably is.
As a child of parents with different religions, I found it hard to identify with either one for fear that choosing a religion would mean choosing a parent. Instead, I remained neutral on the subject and religion never became a defining factor of my identity. I am interested if people in my situation have had similar experiences. I am also curious as to how mixed race children have handled constructing their identity and identifying with cultural elements without alienating one parent. Additionally, I am interested in how socialization could affect the creation of identity, and specifically how it could affect the choice to identify more with one faith or race. My research questions would be:
ReplyDelete1. How do children of interfaith and interracial relationships construct identity? Do religion and race become defining factors of identity, and if so, in what ways?
2. How does socialization affect this construction of identity?