Click here (Economist) to read about the demographic (not to mention personal) challenges facing black women in America seeking solid marriages...
What are your thoughts about contemporary marriage inside versus outside one's racial (and/or ethnic) group? Are these women accomplishing things without men that that could not do with men? Are they modern-day versions of Tamar (or other 'rebellious' Biblical women)?
5 comments:
This article made me laugh, honestly... the end where it the black women say, “but we women got to stand by the black man. If we don’t, who will?” - the white or other woman of another ethnicity will. Even before this they said that statistically, the black male is more willing to marry outside of his ethnic group. I think that once you find someone who makes you happy and you want to spend the rest of your life with them, marry them - regardless of what ethnicity they belong to. I don't think being married puts any hinderance on your life if anything you can accomplish things together as a team.
Mylinda
Slavery emasculated black men and I wonder if sentiments expressed in the article may elude to a deep seated historical acknowledgement of that fact. Although certainly there is a greater melding within American culture today, I think most of us are still pretty tribal- hanging with the folks who share our same color, economic status and for many, religion.
-Julie
This echoes our readings in that perhaps black women choose to marry within their race despite the lack of "good catches" because of the same perceived notion Streete makes that marrying 'foreign' men or outside of their group jeapordizes these women's identity and the continuity of their heritage.
---Stephanie
Still thinking about this since in my family three out of four siblings have interracial marriages. The comment that children of interracial marriages may not be considered to be ethnic enough to identify with either race is interesting. We refer to a particular race as being 'watered down' or find people that percentage out what their race is. (Well, he's half Swedish and half Japanese.) This idea of ethnic identity is like Julie said "tribal" and maybe more deep seated in our DNA than our more culturally open-minded brains can admit.
---Stephanie
well the facts are solid and I find his argument rock solid. He has a numerical and phsycological insight of some of the reasons it is not an easy task for black women to find a mate that is truly up to their standards. I have wondered about this a few times myself. I have several black friends who only date white men, but those girls where adopted my a white mother. I have several "acceptable" black male friends who attended nothing but private schools. The guys do not date bc they are overly focussed on college and tend to like white or latino women. My point is that the environment in which they where raised usualy has a huge impact on their dating prefferences. marriage is still very much considered a necessity to acheiving happiness in american society. As a personal view, I would have to say that women who ar unmarried, race regardless, tend to feel less accomplished in life whether or not they thmselves are financially stable.
- Angela R
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