NY Times Infographic: Who’s Marrying Whom?

By Tim | Friday, February 4, 2011 | 15 Comments

Thanks for visiting 8Asians, a blog about Asian American issues. If you find this interesting, subscribe to the RSS feed, visit our Facebook Page or add us on Twitter!

Source: NY Times

The NY Times ran an interesting infographic last week showing an interesting snapshot of mixed race marriages in America, and in particular of how prevalent mixed race marriages are in Asian America. One of the interesting trends was that in the Asian American community mixed race marriages are down from 1980. For Asian Men in 2009, 104 out of every 1000 marriages are mixed race, down from 138 in 1980. For Asian Women in 2009, 234 out of every 1000 marriages are mixed race, down from 284 in 1980.

Another blogger at Asian Nation commented that the decrease in mixed marriages in the Asian American community may be due to the influx of Asian immigrants, who are more likely to marry another Asian.

The NY Times infographic is actually tied to a story about mixed race young adults and how they are increasingly identifying themselves as multi-racial (unlike for example, President Barack Obama, who self identified on the U.S. Census as black even though his parents are of different races). Stories like this one always make me wonder how my own 5 year old daughter is going to self-identify as she gets older, as she’s half-Asian and half-white. I can only hope she embraces both of her cultural identities as many of these young adults have.

Categories:

Current EventsFamilyLifestyles

NOTE: 8Asians.com is a community, and we thank you for being a part of it. While we welcome and appreciate differences in opinion, if you're rude or you're promoting spam, we have a right to edit or delete your comment. Read our comment policy for more information.

If you see a comment that violates the 8Asians.com comment policy, you may flag the comment by mousing over the comment and clicking "FLAG."

Facebook Comments (Beta)

FrankChow

The NYT had a video earlier in the week about being Mixed in America, http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/01/29/us/1248069564399/young-and-mixed-in-america.html. It might provide some insight into your own daughter’s potential development. The video also has a student who addresses the “Barack Obama Census Mark” quite eloquently. Worth the watch.
http://twitter.com/JMattHicks JMattHicks

“Stories like this one always make me wonder how my own 5 year old daughter is going to self-identify as she gets older, as she’s half-Asian and half-white. I can only hope she embraces both of her cultural identities as many of these young adults have.”

I’m half black and half white and my wife is black, white, and Filipina. My parents were sure to take me and my siblings to East Texas/Louisiana to visit my “black family” and to Wisconsin/Minnesota as well to visit with my “white family;” my wife’s mother and father did the same for her and her younger brother between California and Washington DC.

I’m sure she will develop wonderfully as you remain a strong father in her life and she interacts and meets more and more of her family on both sides. And I assume you’re in L.A…and if so, the cultural diversity there may help in the development as well. It’s good to see fathers who truly care and I’m sure you and your family will be all of the influence she needs to develop a strong, proud identity that incorporates all of her heritage.
http://twitter.com/JMattHicks JMattHicks

@FrankChow HUGE like for the Avatar pic. Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze FTW.
FrankChow

@JMattHicks LOL. Thanks, KENO!!!

And Tim I did notice you linked to the Mixed Race article, but the video is quite refreshing compared to the print article. I am half Chinese and half white, so I have personal interest in the story as well. Thanks for posting this!
timat8asians

@JMattHicks Thanks! And actually we’re the SF Bay Area, but it’s equally if not more diverse up here.
timat8asians

@FrankChow Thanks for the link. That video was great!
Boogerhead

I do not want my daughter more than my son marrying a white person because there are TOO MANY half white/half asian unions compared to the other races. It’s not interractial if everyone is just folding in a bowl of egg whites to lighten the mood and the flavor of their ethnicity. I do not want that for my child – how can I say that and still NOT be racist? I don’t KNOW, but that’s how I feel. It just seem slimey and gold diggerish/social climbing to more often marry someone you find EASY TO LOVE who is white. I need a rabbi ruling on this. Is THIS fish love?
Boogerhead

I want my baby to enjoy the chemistry of having sincere friendships with Black, Jewish, Indian, Muslim and Latino children as well as Chinese children but I hate that a more fortunate life than impoverished kids in China increases my kid’s chances of marrying a WHITE person – not a black person, not a latino, Indian or other tan brunette but a WHITE person. I’m okay with my child having Western European friends but I hate having to worry that they are going to find a Western European Prince Charming. It makes me very uncomfortable.
Boogerhead

My favorite people to talk to are Hong Kong people but they are not the most popular people on the planet. I think of them as sleeper hits like the movies Office Space and The Ref. You have to discover them for yourself and find out that they are your favorite and most rewatchable of all the choices out there. But for some reason, WHITE people are the ones that those cultures distinct from white culture (white culture is basically integrated with Black Culture) are the ones that intermarry the most with white people in the chart. That CANNOT be a mistake. What is it? You don’t want to cater the party or be the ones to issue the checks to pay the caterer, you want to be on the guest list? I thought Latinos and Indians enjoyed being distinct and having a private universe. I’ve kind of given up on Chinese Americans who don’t know enough about the Chinese social world because their parents were immigrants and their environment didn’t support their culture.
FrankChow

@Boogerhead I understand your anxieties, believe me I do. It was the same conversations my father had with his mother before getting married to the love of his life (who happened to be white). Ultimately though wouldn’t you want your daughter to be happy? To discover the beauty of all races and ethnicities?

The lessons and experiences you give your children will contribute to how and who they interact with. No doubt you are passionate about the importance of your own culture and other peoples as well. This will likely have an influence on who your children find attractive. Won’t that be enough?
Boogerhead

I’m not raising a wallflower, a baby in the corner who needs dancing lessons or a hollaback girl. But I see a lot of Asian females who are in relationships with white men precisely because they think that that is the instant potion to turn them into Jennifer Aniston and glide them into a Restoration Hardware magalogue lifestyle. Honey, if you don’t want to feel like a chink, move to Hongkong or just have some personal private standards that you adhere to. You don’t have to be white to have the courage of your convictions and the moral self confidence of a Katherine Hepburn.

I would find it very embarassing to be in their position and you would never know I was thinking that. I’m not mean to other people’s children but I can tell when someone thinks that your romantic partner is social leverage and I don’t appreciate that one bit. You can lecture all you want and posture like Yoko Ono about your racism free love and how hard it’s been for Sean not “belonging” to either world (because being a billionaire heir is a tough go) but frankly, John Lennon was not hotter than Alpha Chinese guys. I hope this spurs Asian males to go the mattresses and reach their full potential as Alpha Males while the Asian females who live on the edges can do whatever they want with their PBS watching, fleece wearing, hiking is fun White guys. I apologize to all the cool White guys out there but you know, I’m talking about True Morons.
Boogerhead

@FrankChow Frank, those numbers have nothing to do with true love. The NYTimes is SHOWING that the minorities are feeling compelled to blend in through marriage. Black culture is so strong in America that white culture is less cool by comparison but you don’t see the blurring into Black marriages. I think there is a real danger that my daughter like so many Chinese girls will end up with white guys because of a cold draft in society in being a Westernized Chinese. Frankly, it’s not the same as when a Chinese son marries a white person for me. Because I expect my son to be an alpha male and their children will carry the Chinese surname – would Keanu Chow have had the same career as Keanu Reeves?
Boogerhead

Being white doesn’t mean you don’t get to have an opinion on this. I think it is perfectly fine that white people want to marry white people. And if you are white guy with an Asian female, you aren’t disqualified from having a valid opinion (especially if you agree with me) but don’t expect that an interracial marriage is kevlar against a blatant smugness about white superiority. I bet a lot of third parties automatically think that being married to a white person is a step up for the Asian spouse and not the other way around when they see Pina Colada couples. Things just aren’t equal … yet.

When I know that quality Asian girls have married true loves who are white, I harbor best wishes for them but I think that a treasure just went out into the ocean and I don’t know when I will see her echo – they may raise really nice kids, but they won’t be unicorns of Chinese culture. Don’t give me that thing that they’ll be their own unicorns like Ashkenazi Jews. No, they won’t because their northstar will not be the Jewish religion or Chinese patriotism, it will be some pan-It’s a Small World philosophy – it has to be for them. If my true love was Puerto Rican instead of another Chinese, I can tell you truthfully that I would not be preparing Chinese culture and language lessons for my kids – I’d be laissez faire and I would definitely not force my kids to socialize with Chinese people – I would decide that that wouldn’t be in their best interest but because my kids will grow up totally embracing their Chineseness, I have to make an effort that they meet nice kids from different races because I think that that is gift to them while they are being trained in all the old Chinese traditions of morality that I learned as a toddler and loved doing so.
timat8asians

@FrankChow My favorite line is at the beginning, where one of the kids says “I don’t think of myself as half this or half that, I’m just me”
Pingback: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother Review: A Memoir of East vs. West Parenting | Books | 8Asians.com

8 Asians