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ASSIGNMENT 2- JOHN ALAN SUTHERLAND -2980775 TITLE INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIPS (LEGAL & COMMON LAW) BETWEEN BLACKS AND WHITES IN CANADA. A PROPOSAL TO RESEARCH CANADIAN SOCIETY ATTITUDES WITHIN THE CALGARY /SOUTHERN ALBERTA COMMUNITY AS TO THESE INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS. BACKGROUND PROPOSAL QUESTION: HOW ARE INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BLACKS AND WHITES VIEWED BY SOCIETY WITHIN THE CALGARY AND SOUTHERN ALBERTA COMMUNITY? While interracial marriage relationships, both legal and common law, between blacks and whites have been increasing in Canada in recent years existing research does not provide qualitative or quantitative data on the attitudes of society, in which the parties live, to the relationship. Works within the social sciences both in Canada and the United States have sought largely to identify the characteristics of individuals in interracial relationships and to account for the occurrence of interracial marriage. However it is important to determine societal response to such relationships not only to study the relationship itself but more importantly to tell us something about the underlying racial discourses and practices within our own community (Childs). Good qualitative data can come in the form of interviews with black-white heterosexual couples and multiracial families, focus groups in white and black communities and a comprehensive analysis of media and popular cultural representations of interracial relationships to determine societal views and responses to interracial relationships. What we hear are social

events that instruct us about social processes, social structures and social situations (Adalberto Aguirre). However the negative side to such qualitative research is that many whites for example when asked for opinions on interracial relationships are often silent or hesitant to speak about issues of race or interracial relationships. This is often because whites want to avoid discussing the issue for fear of saying something that would be perceived as racism. Yet when pressed on the issue most whites will respond by saying they have nothing against such relationships but on a personal level they would not be involved or want someone close to them to be involved in an interracial relationship. Whites often use the expression I dont care if the person is red, blue, black or green as a way of trying to give the perception that they are not prejudiced. When Whites state that they personally would not marry interracially but do not care if others do, they are still reproducing their group and the boundaries that separate white and black (Goffman). Whites often try to hide prejudice by saying that they are not physically attracted to blacks, acting as if a preference for blondes is the same as an aversion to Blacks and possibly black skin in general (Childs). On the other hand blacks when interviewed exhibit oppositional support for such relationships feeling that these relationships simply reinforce white racism and reinforce opinions that black is not as good as white and that blacks who enter these relationships are trying to take advantage of white privilege and continue black inequality. Given that many of these comments come from White and Black Americans the purpose of this proposal it to carry out research to determine if the same beliefs hold true in Canada and in particular the Calgary Area of Southern Alberta. This can be determined I believe with quantitative data obtained from a representative cross section of society in the Calgary region using student participants at the university level at the University of Calgary in the Social Sciences Programs.

Why White people and Black people are attracted to each other and enter into intimate interracial relationships? Background: Definitions: Group cultural beliefs, values, and interests are defined for this research as those that are identifiable and predominant in a particular group whether arising from reactive or evolutionary components. Reactive includes those resulting from adjustments by a group to deal with external pressures such as repression over long periods of time. Evolutionary includes those evolving as core cultural elements either in a homeland or in the Diaspora. For the purpose of this research I am defining close interracial relationship as a relationship between two persons of different races or ethnicities living together that involves them in the process of seeking intimacy or closeness between them. Between 1988 and 1996 Reis and Shaver (Shaver) and Reis and Patrick (H.T.Reis)published research (Laurenceau and Pietromonaco 1238) on a model of how intimacy develops in interpersonal relationships. In their model intimacy or closeness develops through a dynamic process whereby an individual discloses personal information, thoughts and feelings to a partner; receives a response from the partner; and interprets that response as understanding, validating and caring. Repeating this sequence of events over a period of time creates a feeling of intimacy or closeness between partners. The process can be carried on verbally or through non verbal actions (Patterson). The model regards the speakers interpretation of the listeners communication as more important for the development of intimacy than a speakers disclosure or the listeners actual response. At each stage of this process, personal qualities and individual

differences, including motives, needs and goals , can influence each persons behaviours and their interpretation of a partners behaviour. Self disclosures that involve emotions are believed to generate greater intimacy than those that are merely factual because such disclosures open the way for the listener to support and confirm core aspects of the disclosers view of self. My hypothesis is that cultural beliefs, values and interests of each partner in close interracial relationships negatively affects the process whether verbal or non verbal (Floyd) leading to the development of intimacy between them because these beliefs, values and interests mask the true emotions of the individual partner. This in turn may cause continued friction and breakup or disengagement of the relationship (Afifi). Therefore it is vitally important to determine whether and to what degree these cultural beliefs, values and interests of each partner affect this development of intimacy. The results of this research may lead to creating ways as to how interracial dyads can express the positive parts of their own group culture without negatively impacting their relation building process. How such beliefs, values and interests may affect intergroup contacts has been written upon but despite its obvious practical importance and theoretical value, nonverbal behaviour in intergroup contexts is a curiously understudied topic (J.F. Dovidio: M. Hebl). The question is important to me personally as I am white Canadian and my wife is a black Jamaican. We have 11 year old twins and have been married for 16 years. Throughout our marriage many of our disagreements I believe relate to how each of us perceive the world in terms of racial beliefs. An example would be how each of us view the election and presidency of Barack Obama as President of the United States (Bell). Each time I have criticized his policies regarding whether he has tried to follow through with his campaign promises my wife has stepped up to his defence by claiming that my criticism is racially motivated and that those

criticizing him do not want a black man to succeed (Pyszczynski and Henthorn). On the other hand I do not have any similar feelings in responding to criticism of Stephen Harper or any other white politician (Teasley). A further hypothesis could be that minority groups, especially those delineated by colour or race, will not accept criticism of one of its members if it threatens or denigrates the groups beliefs and experiences as to what the group believes is racism. The potential advantages and disadvantages of using an interdisciplinary approach to answer this question is that the question itself is larger than the disciplines of mental health, sociology, psychology , anthropology and ethnology to cover a few of the areas. Turners article was particularly helpful in delineating the historical context of both disciplinary and interdisciplinary studies while Kleins article attempted to cover too many ideas without a central focus to her writing. The literature search indicates research in the areas of ethnic minorities prejudice expectations as a possible area involved in minority reaction to criticism (Shelton and Salvatore, Expecting to be the Target of Prejudice: Implications for Interethnic Interactions), (West and Trail), (Gehring and Andrew Karpinski), (Trail and West), (Shelton and Salvatore, Expectiong to be the Target of Prejudice : Implications for Interethnic Interactions), (Richeson and Shelton), (J. N. Richeson), (Turner), and (Rahimi and Fisher). As well the literature surrounding attitudes by blacks and the O.J. Simpson Trial were reviewed: (Ernest D. Washington), (Noble), (Graham and Zucker), (Stanley O. Gaines), and (Stewart). In addition literature was reviewed in interpersonal relationships; (Laurenceau and Pietromonaco).

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