Interracial Relations and Sex and Marriage - Essay Example

? of Lecturer] Gender & Sexual Studies Interracial relations and sex and marriage Introduction Interracial relations, especially sexual and marriage relationships occur between people of different racial groups. In general terms, the mixing together of people of different racial groups in sexual relations, cohabitation, and marriage is referred to as miscegenation. The legality of these interracial relations has been a problematic topic in many societies, more so the United States and other communities in the West to which people of various races and ethnicities have migrated. In historical times, many jurisdictions in the Western world enacted laws and regulations that restricted or outright banned interracial marriages and sexual relations. These Western societies include the apartheid South Africa, the Nazi Germany, a number of states in the United States before the 1967 Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriages. Interracial relations have also been controversial in the Islamic/Arab world in which some Muslim laws and customs ban or restrict sexual and marriage relationships with non-Muslims/Arabs or non-natives of a woman’s ancestral home. In these societies, more so in patriarchal cultures, interracial relations are discouraged to ensure that future generations are brought up as Arabs and Muslims. In worse scenarios, women found to be breaching such laws and customs are subjected to cruel punishments, which could even be death in places where strict Islamic law is followed. In fact, in Arab states of Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Afghanistan and the Palestinian Authority, there have been reports of violence against women who have married from other races, ethnic groups, or foreign countries. These harsh laws are applied under the pretext that such an individual has committed adultery and the judicial systems of these countries condone such cruelty towards women and men who embrace interracial relations. This paper explores the issue of interracial relations with reference to the movies “guess who is coming for dinner” and the novel “hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet” by Jamie Ford. Interracial Relations-Sex, and Marriages Fortunately for the multiracial United States of America, interracial relations such as cohabitation, sexual, or marriage have been fully legalized since the Supreme Court decision of 1967, which declared anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional. Nonetheless, most states of the U.S had legalized interracial relations earlier than 1967. This Supreme Court decision was particularly important for the U.S citizenry due to the fact that the country has rather many ethnic and racial groups, which make interracial sexual and marriage relations rather common among its citizens. In spite of them being legalized, interracial relations continue to face several challenges, which result in quite a number of complications or barriers that same-race/culture marriages do not face (Smith & Hattery 68). These factors, mostly external, often create conflicts and disagreement in such relationships. For example, the fact that different races have diverse ethical values, customs, and beliefs implies that if people of different races marry, these values and customs may cause conflicts by influencing their perceptions of issues such as lifestyle and family values. Thus, there are bound to be problems and disagreements in such interracial relations (Poitier 124). On a rather positive note, not all interracial marriages have intercultural complications and challenges since there are situations in which people of different races may have the same or almost similar cultures so that little or not custom or value conflicts are encountered in such marriages. For example, in the United States, a couple could be of different races but have intermingled extensively for long periods so that they have similar cultural perspectives on life. The acceptance of the community, family, and the lifestyle of the other partner is among the major complication of interracial sexual relations and marriages. As observed in the film “Guess Who Is Coming for Dinner”, partners’ families may find it difficult to display affection for the other family, instead, openly displaying rejection, hostility, resistance to their kin’s partner and relatives. Generational ideological gaps may also affect cultural practices such as weddings, the nurturing of children, religion/worship, and conflict resolution. Interracial relations also face communication-related challenges especially with regards to the styles of processing, sending, and receiving information (Smith & Hattery 128). For instance, one partner’s race may not be verbally explicit in his/her communication behaviors. On the contrary, a partner could be from a low context culture, which uses direct and obvious communication styles to pass information. Thus, interracial, marriage, and sex issues are some of the controversial issues that the public has faced and debated since time immemorial. These debates have not only appeared in form of verbal discussions and exchanges but also in the form of art such as literatures and films. One interracial relations-themed film was produced in the 1967 during which racial segregation was at its peak not only in the United States of America but also elsewhere in the world. The film “Guess Who's Coming to Dinner” stars among others, Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, and Katharine Houghton. Unlike majority of race-themed films of that period, “Guess Who is coming for Dinner” represented racial relations positively in the form of the controversial issues of interracial dating and marriage, which had earlier been illegal acts in most states of the United States (Chandler 237). In fact, by 1967 when the movie was produced, interracial marriage was still illegal in 17 states of the U.S. However, it was mostly in the southern states where interracial marriages and sex were considered illegal (Chandler 237). The movie, produced and written by Stanley Kramer and William Rose respectively, was released in the same year the Supreme Court struck down anti-miscegenation laws in the Loving versus Virginia case. As mentioned earlier, the film is particularly remembered for the positive portrayal of interracial marriage and its being among the first race-themed films to end on an optimistic note. In the film, a young white woman Joanna "Joey" Drayton (Katharine Houghton) meets and experiences a whirlwind romance with a young, idealistic black physician named Dr. John Prentice (Sidney Poitier) in Hawaii. Joey says to her parents that “John was invited to lecture at Hawaii University and we met at this big party at the Dean’s” (Wechsler 5). The focus of the movie is Joey’s return to her liberal upper-class American home in San Francisco with her new fiance. She then invites him to dinner at her parents’ home (Andersen 298). Although Joey’s parents had taught her to treat people of all races as equals, she was surprised at her parents’ reaction when she brought home a black man as their son-in-law to be. Similarly, John’s parents did not expect their future daughter-in-law to be white when they flew from Los Angeles for the dinner at the Drayton’s’ home. As emphasized in the film, there is need for society to respect peoples’ choices and decisions in matters relating to interracial relations such as dating, sex, and marriage although one may be uncomfortable with a friend’s or a relative’s decision on such relations. Tillie, the Drayton’s housekeeper says “You’re one of them smooth talking smart ass niggers; just out for all you can get with your black power, and all that trouble making nonsense” (Wechsler 14). To emphasize her distrust of John, she adds that “I brought up that child from a baby in her cradle and ain’t nobody going to harm her none while I’m watching” (Wechsler 14). The other piece of work that discusses interracial relations is Jamie Ford’s novel “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet”. In this novel, Henry Lee, a 12-year-old Chinese boy falls in love with a 12-year-old Japanese girl named Keiko Okabe. Both were studying under scholarships in a prestigious Seattle private school during World War II. Due to the hatred towards interracial relations, Henry is forced to hide the relationship from his parents for fear of being rejected for befriending a Japanese girl. Since Japanese residents are being taken to relocation centers; Lee’s father wants him to wear an "I am Chinese" button so that he is easily identified as Chinese. “Henry looked down at the button on his shirt; he had already forgotten it. “My father’s idea,” he mumbled. His father hated the Japanese. Not because they sank the USS Arizona—he hated them because they’d been bombing Chongqing, nonstop, for the last four years” (Ford 14). To emphasize the theme of interracial relations, Henry is portrayed as fascinated by Sheldon, an older black saxophonist friend of his. Because of Lee’s decisions to embrace interracial relations, he is distanced from his father and later, his son. “Young Henry Lee stopped talking to his parents when he was twelve years old, not because of some silly childhood tantrum, but because they asked him to do so” (Ford 14). Lee was more confused since his father wanted him to speak English instead of Chinese while demanding that he wears the “I am Chinese” button on his shirt. He asked, ““If I’m not supposed to speak Chinese, why do I need to wear this button” (Ford 12)? Conclusion Interracial relations occur between people of different races in form of marriages and sexual relations. Although rampant in the earlier centuries, the legalization of such relations has encouraged marriages between different races, ethnicities, and cultures, promoting societal integration. Consequently, cultural diversity and racial tolerance and integration have been achieved in many societies where people of different backgrounds live. The role of media such as films and literatures in promoting interracial relations must hence be appreciated since they portray the positive elements and consequences of interracial relations. Works Cited Andersen, C. An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, 1997. William Morrow and Company, Chandler, C. I Know Where I am Going: Katharine Hepburn - A Personal Biography, 2010. Simon & Schuster. Ford, J. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, 2012. New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved on September 4, 2012 from http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/RandoEMS/FORD_HOTEL_ON_THE_CORNER.pdf Poitier, S. The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography, 2000. Harper-San Francisco Publishers, Inc. Smith, E., and Hattery, A. Interracial Relationships in the 21st Century, 2009. Carolina Academic Press. Wechsler, R. “Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner: Drama/Comedy-1967”, 2000. Retrieved on September 4, 2012 from http://www.eslnotes.com/movies/pdf/guess-whos-coming-to-dinne.pdf Read More