Minnesota State University, Mankato Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects Capstone Projects 2018 "It's Because You Are White": A Qualitative Study on the Impact of Whiteness and White Privilege in Interracial Relationships Adrienne Gruenes Minnesota State University, Mankato Follow this and additional works at: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds Part of the Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Gruenes, A. (2018). "It's Because You Are White": A Qualitative Study on the Impact of Whiteness and White Privilege in Interracial Relationships [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/814/ This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects at Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. “It's Because You Are White": A Qualitative Study on the Impact of Whiteness and White Privilege in Interracial Relationships By Adrienne Gruenes A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In Communication Studies Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, MN May 2018 April 25th, 2018 This thesis has been examined and approved. ____________________________________ Dr. Kristen Treinen ____________________________________ Dr. Justin Rudnick ____________________________________ Dr. Shannon Miller 2 Abstract “It's Because You Are White": A Qualitative Study on the Impact of Whiteness and White Privilege in Interracial Relationships Previous research has produced numerous studies on the dynamics of interracial relationships. However, there is still a gap in the existing research concerning how whiteness and white privilege impacts interracial relationships. This qualitative study sought to examine how whiteness and white privilege impacts interracial relationships when one person in the relationship identifies as white and their partner identifies as a person of color. I conducted in- depth interviews with four interracial couples who had one person in the relationship that identified as white and their partner identified as a person of color. Each couple participated in a dyadic interview and then each persons in the relationship participated in a separate individual interview. The findings of this research conclude that whiteness and white privilege impacts interracial relationships in the following ways: 1) the racial salience of the relationship 2) the acknowledgment of privilege in the relationship, and, 3) the whiter the couple looked the less racism/discrimination that they faced. 3 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Kristen Treinen who chaired and advised this thesis. I could not have done this without you. You guided and supported me through this whole process. It wasn’t easy, but you helped me get through it and pushed me to become a better writer and a better scholar. I appreciated all our talks and rants about white privilege. I have gained more knowledge and passion for the topic of whiteness, privilege, and white privilege because of you. I also want to thank Dr. Justin Rudnick for being on my committee and for being my professor for qualitative research methods. I learned so much about qualitative research from you. The thought of writing a thesis was daunting to many of us, but you took us through the process step by step and made the thesis less daunting than it seemed. Thank you to Dr. Shannon Miller for also being on my committee. Throughout this whole process, you have given me great feedback to improve my thesis. You helped me broaden my knowledge on the topic of white privilege, whiteness and white innocence. I greatly appreciate all the support and assistance you have given me. Next, I want to thank my mom, dad, and my sister for supporting me every step of the way. In whatever I do, you all are there for me whenever I need it. Getting my masters was something that I never thought I would do, but you encouraged me to do it. Thank you all for pushing me to be the best that I can be. Finally, I want to thank my fiancé, Manish, for all the love and support you have given me. Thank you for allowing me to talk about my research constantly. Whenever I needed you, you are always there for me. You always say to me in Hindi “koi baat nahi” which translates to 4 the phrase “it’s okay.” You mean the world to me. You are my best friend. Thank you so much for everything. I love you. 5 Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 8 Purpose of Study ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Research Question .................................................................................................................................... 11 Precis of Chapter in Thesis ...................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ......................................................................................... 13 Relationship Development ........................................................................................................................ 13 Non-Interracial Relationship Development ........................................................................................ 13 Interracial Relationship Development ................................................................................................ 15 White Privilege and Whiteness ................................................................................................................ 18 White Privilege ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Whiteness ............................................................................................................................................... 20 White Innocence ........................................................................................................................................ 21 Co-Cultural Theory .................................................................................................................................. 22 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 27 Method ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 Participants ................................................................................................................................................ 28 Procedures ................................................................................................................................................. 30 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 32 Overarching Theme .................................................................................................................................. 32 Dominant Themes ..................................................................................................................................... 32 Racial Salience in Relationship ............................................................................................................ 33 External influences ............................................................................................................................ 33 Colorblindness .................................................................................................................................... 35 Contradictions in racial salience in the relationship ........................................................................ 37 Acknowledgement of Privilege in Relationship .................................................................................. 38 Defining Privilege .............................................................................................................................. 38 Privilege in Their Relationship .......................................................................................................... 39 Contradictions in privilege ................................................................................................................. 42 The Whiter We Look the Less Racism/Discrimination We Face ..................................................... 43 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................