Mixed Heritage in the Family

Racial Identity, Spousal Choice, and Childrearing

von Carolyn Liebler, Miri Song

208 Seiten, Taschenbuch

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

As interracial unions and multiracial people become more common in the United States, mixed-heritage people have come to be regarded by some as a bellwether of race relations in the country. Is the growth of this population a sign that we are now in a post-racial era and our racial identities no longer impact our daily lives? In Mixed Heritage in the Family, sociologists Carolyn A. Liebler and Miri Song explore how racially mixed people navigate racial boundaries as they choose spouses and raise families. Liebler and Song break new ground by being the first to combine and integrate the study of three aspects of life for people of mixed racial heritage - identity, spouse choice, and childrearing. This integrated approach reveals how complicated racial identification can be, and how it can be expressed in one's choice of partner or in how one raises their children. The authors draw on census data and interviews with Asian-White, Black-White, and American Indian/Alaska Native-White mixed people to better understand how their identity choices are related to their choice of spouse and how they racially identify and raise their children. > The way mixed-heritage people identify was closely tied to the race of their spouse. However, having a White spouse did not necessarily mean the mixed-race person felt disconnected from their non-White heritage. White spouses varied in their racial consciousness and their interest in the culture of their mixed-race spouse's minority ancestry. The spouse's race, and the nature of racial overlap between the spouses, was also key in the racial upbringing of a mixed-heritage person's child. In families where the parents share a minority racial heritage, couples lean into their shared 'family race', which guides their parenting choices and family life. Many mixed heritage parents found it important to foster racial pride in their children and combat negative racial stereotypes.

Liebler and Song caution against making superficial predictions about the state of race relations in the U.S. based on an increase in the multiracial population. They show that race has not become less salient in the lives of many mixed-race people--American society is not post-racial.

Mixed Heritage in the Family breaks new ground, provides compelling insights in its examination of the lives of mixed-race people, and shows how complicated racial identification can be.

• Themen: Gesellschaft und Sozialwissenschaften Gesellschaft und Kultur, allgemein Soziale und ethische Themen Soziale Diskriminierung und soziale Gleichbehandlung Rassismus und rassistische Diskriminierung / Antirassismus
• ISBN: 9780871545411
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 15.05.2025
• Größe: 229 x 152 mm
• Verlag: Russell Sage Foundation