Race in (Inter)Action: Identity Work and Interracial Couples’ Navigation of Race in Everyday Life A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School at the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in the Department of Sociology of the College of Arts and Sciences by Ainsley E. Lambert-Swain B.A., Morehead State University, 2009 M.A., University of Cincinnati, 2013 Dissertation Chair: Jennifer Malat Committee Members: Littisha Bates Sarah Mayorga-Gallo July 2018 ABSTRACT Interracial couples are a growing population in the United States. In 1967, after the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case ended all legal restrictions of interracial sex and marriage, just 3% of newlyweds were interracial. In 2015, approximately fifty years later, the percentage of interracially married newlyweds was more than five times that amount. This increase is even higher when non-married and non-heterosexual couples are accounted for. At the same time, the U.S. remains highly segregated by race. This means that interracial couples often move between racially homogenous settings wherein either partner is the only member of their race. Consequently, couples must navigate shifting racial meanings as they traverse racial boundaries in their everyday lives. Using in-depth interviews with 40 partners in White/non-White interracial relationships, this study examines the identity processes involved as couples navigate race and racism in interaction. Findings shed light on couples’ struggle to assess how their interraciality shapes the way they are perceived by others in a highly racialized society; how White partners, who experience racial salience often for the first time, consciously manage their identity in non- White spaces; and how White partners make sense of the racism they observe from other Whites in their social worlds. i Copyright 2018 Ainsley E. Lambert-Swain ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without a doubt, the completion of this project would not have been possible without the varied and countless contributions of my committee members, colleagues, and family. First and foremost, I wish to thank my mentor and committee chair, Jennifer Malat, who believed in my ideas and so unselfishly shared her time, insight, and encouragement. Beyond this project, I am also grateful for her example of conscientious leadership, which for me, has demonstrated how we as race scholars can contribute to real and lasting change both within the institutions we serve, and beyond through community engagement. I would also like to thank my committee members, Littisha Bates and Sarah Mayorga-Gallo, for their feedback and support throughout this project. I am sincerely grateful to know such brilliant, fierce, generous, and genuinely kind scholars. I would also like to thank the Department of Sociology, Taft Research Center, and the Kunz Center for Social Research for their support of this project. In addition, I am especially thankful to my participants for their time and willingness to share the intimate details of their lives and relationships. Without their openness and generosity, this project would not have been possible. The friendships I have developed throughout my graduate school career are invaluable. My utmost thanks to Megan Underhill, who in addition to sharing many kind and encouraging words, willingly shared information and insights from her experience as she successfully completed the program and the job market ahead of me. Thank you for rooting for me! I am also immensely grateful for my sociology friends who became “framily”—Aaryn Green, Curtis Webb, and Alan Grigsby. Over the years, we have celebrated one another’s triumphs and saw each other through setbacks and disappointments. Regardless of time and distance, you have always been there to lend iii an ear, share a drink, and make me laugh. I am forever indebted to you for your friendship and for making Cincinnati feel more like home. Looking back, I realize that much of what set me on this path towards a Ph.D. is my family—my mom and dad, Pam and Larry, and my sister Ashley. I am immensely thankful for the sacrifices they made, and for the moral compass and work ethic they cultivated in me. Thank you for celebrating every milestone along this journey and for your unwavering support. Finally, I am grateful beyond measure for my best friend and loving husband, Lamont. Thank you for believing in me and encouraging me to pursue my goals; for being my refuge during the times it felt impossible; and for reminding me when I managed to forget that I have what it takes. I love you all. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………....…………………………………………………………... i Acknowledgements…………………….……………………………………………………………… iii List of Tables and Figures…..……………………………..……………………………………...…… vi Chapter I: Introduction and Methods…..…………………………………….…………………...…… 1 Chapter II: Dyadic Double Consciousness: How Interracial Couples Assess Others’ Perceptions in Interaction………………………………………………………………….……………………….. 15 Literature…………..……………………………………………………………………….…… 17 Methods……………………..………………………………………………………..…...…….. 21 Findings……..………..…………………………………………………………..……..………. 21 Discussion……….....………………...……………………….………………….……………... 37 Chapter III: “I Was Trying to Kind of Fit In”: White Interracial Partners’ Impression Management in Non-White Settings…………………………………………………………………………………. 40 Literature…………..……………………………………………….…………………………… 41 Methods……………………..………………………………………..…………………...…….. 46 Findings……..……………………………………………………....……………...…………… 47 Discussion…………………………....………………………………..………………………... 74 Chapter IV: Making Sense of Inconsistency: White Partners on Interpersonal Racism in “Nonracist” White Spaces…………………………………………………………………………………………. 79 Literature…………..………………………………………………………………...………..… 80 Methods……………………..…………………………………………………...……………… 84 Findings……..……………………………………………..……………...……………..……… 84 Discussion…………………………....……………………….………………………….……... 94 Chapter V: Conclusion……………...……………………………………............................................. 98 Bibliography…..……………………………………………………………………………… 104 Appendix A…..…………………………………………………………………………...…. 115 v List of Tables and Figures Table 1. Racial and Gender Makeup of Couples……………………………………………….14 Table 2. Partners of Color Self-Identified Race/Ethnicity………………………..……………115 Figure 1. Map Visualization of Population Density and Racial Segregation in Cincinnati, OH…….6 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION It’s something that I'm trying to understand. It's something that I don't know if there's ever going to be like an easy answer, an easy solution, or a way to make to feel it right because there's so much that's so long in our culture and I think that's part of the battle. I think that's part of the struggle for interracial couples is you know, weighing love against a historical context that makes it so much more complicated than just that. -Abby, White partner in interracial relationship The year 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court case which ruled antimiscegenation laws unconstitutional and ended all legal restrictions of interracial sex and marriage. Approximately fifty years later, romantic partnerships across racial borders have increased substantially, accounting for 17% of all new marriages in 2015 (Livingston and Brown 2017). Harvard Law professor, Randall Kennedy (2003: 37) argues that “the rates of interracial dating, marriage, and adoption are inching, and in some places rocketing, upward,” and cites this as evidence that “Americans are becoming increasingly multiracial in their tastes, affections, and identities.” Moreover, we see interracial couples propped up in popular discourse as symbols of racial progress and growing racial acceptance, with some going as far to suggest that interracial couples have the potential to end racism (Cashin 2017). Yet, there is host of evidence that suggests a much more complicated picture. First, empirical research consistently demonstrates continued racial disparities across a number of important social outcomes, such as wealth and income (Oliver and Shapiro 2006), education (Bates and Glick 2013; Ryan and Bauman 2016), housing (McCabe 2016), and health (Malat, Jacquez, and Slavich 2017; Malat, Mayorga-Gallo, and Williams 2018). That is to say, 1 empirical evidence suggests increasing rates of interracial intimacy do little to reduce structural inequality. Second, responses to portrayals of interracial couples in the media indicate the broader society is still resistant to interracial intimacy. For instance, in 2013, Cheerios ran a television ad featuring a multiracial family. The ad received such severe racist backlash it was pulled from the air, though it was eventually returned after a wave backlash to the backlash (Goyette 2013). A similar culture war played out on social media in 2016 after Old Navy tweeted an ad that featured a multiracial family (Pérez-Peña 2016). Third, contradictions about the acceptance of interracial couples are also apparent in attitudinal data. While changes in Americans’ attitudes reveal increasing approval of interracial couples over time, the percentage of Americans who approve of someone in their family marrying outside of their race is much lower, suggesting Americans are more likely to approve of interracial relationships when they happen elsewhere—not in their own families (Wang 2012). Finally, perhaps the most important evidence regarding acceptance of interracial couples and multiracial families stems from their first-hand accounts. Findings from empirical