Multiracial people and their partners in Britain: Extending the link between intermarriage and integration?. (August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Song, Miri
• Other Names: Irastorza Nahikari guest-editor.; Törngren Sayaka Osanami guest-editor.; Song Miri guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Ethnicities. Volume 16:Number 4(2016)
• Page Start: 631
• Page End: 648
• Publication Date: 2016-08
• Subjects: Multiracial -- children -- intermarriage -- parents -- partners -- integration; 305.8
• DOI: 10.1177/1468796816638399
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1468-7968

Abstract

There are now a growing number of studies on intermarriage in Western multi-ethnic societies, especially in countries with post-colonial migrants (and their descendants). Intermarriage is of great interest to analysts because a group's tendency to partner across ethnic boundaries is a key indicator of the social distance between groups in a multi-ethnic society. However, theorizing on intermarriage is typically premised upon the union (usually) of a White and non-White individual. We know little, therefore, about what happens the next generation down: the unions of multiracial people, who are the children of intermarried couples. With whom do multiracial people partner? Furthermore, are multiracial individuals who are partnered with White people different in their outlooks, identifications, and socialization of their children, from those who have ethnic minority partners? I draw upon some findings from a Leverhulme-funded research project on multiracial people and their experiences as parents in Britain.