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Multiracial Individuals, Gender Dynamics, and Dating University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2017 Multiracial Individuals, Gender Dynamics, And Dating Kayla Mildred Williams University of Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Kayla Mildred, "Multiracial Individuals, Gender Dynamics, And Dating" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 853. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/853 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MULTIRACIAL INDIVIDUALS, GENDER DYNAMICS, AND DATING A Thesis Presented in partial fulfillment of requirements For the degree of Masters of Arts In the Department of Sociology and Anthropology University of Mississippi By Kayla Mildred Williams August 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Kayla Williams All rights reserved ABSTRACT This study examines the role gender and race play in multiracial men and women’s experiences with dating. With the use of interviews, fourteen men and women shared their experiences with dating. There were two main themes that emerged. The first was the development of a multiracial identity. Participants labelled four factors that impact the development of their multiracial identity: family, friends, school, and religion. The other theme was dating approaches which included: finding a partner, family acceptance and non-acceptance, and challenges with dating. Influenced by the theoretical frames of intersectionality and colorism, I demonstrate how race and gender are intersecting power dynamics that influence multiracial experiences when it comes to dating. ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate my thesis to the woman that has always stood by my side: my mother. Thank you, Mama, for the love and encouragement you have showered me with over the years. I couldn’t have made it this far without all that you do for me. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are numerous people that have helped me through the process of writing my thesis. First, I would like to thank my thesis chair, Kirsten Dellinger. Without her guidance, dedication, and expertise, I would not have been able to fully develop and write my thesis. I would also like to thank my committee members: Jeff Jackson, Willa Johnson, and James Thomas. Each provided me with literature, value feedback, and invested their time in me. Lastly, thank you to my colleagues for all the support you all have given me throughout the past two years. I would like to thank my family and friends who have been there with me throughout this journey. To my sister, Alexsys Shackleford, thank you for the late-night phone calls and the random things you did to help me destress. To my father, Corey Williams, thank you for providing me with the resources I needed to purchase what I needed. To my second mother, Linda Campos, thank you for the phone calls that kept me focused and reading through each one of my thesis drafts! To my second family, Shelly and Ashley Beard, thank you for the late nights when I needed help with notes or just needed a homecooked meal. To my partner in crime, Jonah McBeth, thank you for the random road trips, the pep talks, and little things you did just to give me more time to spend working. To my best friend, John Purdon, thank you for everything you have done for me! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract:……………………………………………………………………..….Page ii Dedication:……………………………………………………………………...Page iii Acknowledgements:…………………………………………………………….Page iv Chapter One: Introduction………………………………………………………Page 1 Chapter Two: Methodology…………………………………………………….Page 20 Chapter Three: Development of Multiracial Identity…………………………...Page 26 Chapter Four: Approaches to Dating…………………………………………...Page 45 Chapter Five: Conclusion……………………………………………………….Page 76 Bibliography………………………………………………………………….…Page 86 List of Appendices……………………………………………………………...Page 94 Curriculum Vitae:………………………………………………………………Page 105 v CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION As a multiracial woman, being racially ambiguous in a society that does not look beyond the racial categories of black and white has been challenging. The question, “what are you?” is a constant reminder that I am different, and that my experiences are different from those around me. As an adolescent, I struggled with navigating through my racial ambiguity. The most common issues were figuring out a place where I fit in, how to racially identify myself, and most importantly, how to date in a region where people are taught “not to mix races.” I found myself reading articles and books to find answers to the questions to see if others like me have similar experiences. However, I noticed that my experiences did not match the material presented in the literature, and there was nothing that specifically addressed dating as a multiracial. Literature focused on the experiences of multiracial individuals but not on how these experiences differed between men and women. Also, dating literature focused on interracial dating between two monoracial individuals which did not apply to me or others like me because we are not considered to be a single race. Therefore, I decided to do a study that would allow me to look at the aspects of being multiracial that are not accounted for in the literature. Since the implementation of the “check all that apply” or what is now called the “mark one or more” option created by the United States Census Bureau, there has been an increase in the amount of research done on multiracial individuals (Brunsma 2004:555). The increase in 1 research is a result of the “multiracial movement” which focuses on both classifying multiracial individuals accurately and questions relating to multiracial identity (Brunsma 2004:556). Therefore, most literature written on multiracial individuals has focused on how multiracials navigate issues involving their identity. However, there is a gap in the literature surrounding the impact gender has on multiracial experiences and the issues multiracial individuals encounter when it comes to dating. For this study, I use an intersectional approach that includes the power dynamics of race and gender to examine if and how the experiences of multiracial individuals differ from those reported in prior literature that only uses a racial frame when studying multiracial individuals. Informed by Khanna’s (2010) concept of “reflective appraisals,” I explore how multiracial individuals develop a multiracial identity based on the shared interactions respondents have had with others. I also explore how multiracial individuals approach dating. These approaches to dating include: what it is like to find a partner, family acceptance and non-acceptance of partners, challenges that arise when dating, and positive dating experiences. I also explore how multiracial individuals feel about the “mark one or more” option and term “other” as a means for racial identification and what forms of resistance individuals use to combat the current racial identification options. The study uses a demographic questionnaire and semi-structured, in-depth interviews with multiracial men and women who have a multiracial and or multi-ethnic identity. The data from the questionnaire were used as contextual evidence for describing the participants. The interviews help to gain an understanding of why and how experiences of multiracial men and women differ. The interviews also provide an understanding of how multiracial individuals in this study navigate the realm of dating. 2 I have three guiding research questions. First, how does gender affect the experiences of multiracial individuals? Second, what is it like to date as a multiracial person? Third, how do multiracial individuals feel about the “mark one or more” option and term “other” as a means for racial identification? I hypothesize that multiracial men and women will have different experiences because of the power gender holds within our society. I also believe that multiracial individuals may experience some difficulties when dating since racially ambiguous persons are treated as “other” in society which may extend to dating and forming relationships. In this chapter, I review literature on how multiracial individuals have historically been studied. Along with historical context of racial categorization of multiracials in the United States, this chapter also explains the theoretical frameworks used in this study and why they are helpful when studying multiracial individuals. In the second chapter, I explain the methodology I used to complete this study. This includes: the sample, the recruitment process and challenges, the interview process, coding, and limitations of the study. The third and fourth chapters display my findings. The first findings chapter describes how multiracial individuals develop a multiracial identity, and the second findings chapter describes how multiracials in this study approach dating. The concluding chapter discusses the meaning of my findings and discusses the further research needed in relation to my study. Following my chapters, I provide an appendix that includes the participant demographics for this study, the information flyer that was provided to participants, the demographic survey given to the participants, and interview guide used when completing this study. 3 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIRACIAL RACE OPTIONS To understand the “multiracial boom” which focuses
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