Gin Young Pang "Differences in Parental Influence Among Interethnic and Interracial Relationships." By: Christopher Aba

Growing up my parents always told me, “You don’t have to marry an Armenian Girl, but make sure you marry a respectable woman.” I think maybe this is the reason why I don’t normally consider race or ethnicity when I get into a relationship. It’s strange though because my sister is the exact opposite, her ideal man is Armenian. So what makes us think differently? When “Image” magazine published, “Asian Women, Caucasian Men: The New Demographics of Love.” Many people, who were in this particular relationship got outraged that there was more to interracial relationships – especially Asian Women/White Men – than “Love.”

I agree with the outrage that this article caused because, I believe that ethnicity or race does not matter. However, this may be because of what my parents instilled in me. Gin Young Pang’s article is stating that, what we call “Love” is not free from influence or race, gender, class inequality in our society. All of these factors contribute to the “Social Construction” of love and the meaning of interracial and interethnic relationships. Researchers Berger and Luckman define social construction as the process by which individuals come to describe, explain, or otherwise account for the world in which they live. Gin also includes the impact that cultural beliefs, morals, values, social institutions, and authority have on the meaning. My interpretation of social construction is what people perceive as their own reality in respect to relationships and marital choices. Gin states that perceptions of race, gender, and class inequality are internalized and reflected in the attitudes and interpretations that Asian Americans have about interracial and interethnic relationships, and how their parents have an influence on this. My viewpoint is that race and ethnicity do not matter, however I do agree that the views, and notions of parents or authority figures do influence people’s decisions when choosing a partner to be in a relationship with.

Gin’s findings are based on the study done of Korean Americans. One of the three areas that influence opinions on interracial and interethnic relationships is the parent’s attitude toward intermarriage. In this study, it showed that fifteen out of the twenty of the interviewees felt their parents would strongly disapprove to somewhat disapprove of intermarriage (Marrying outside the Korean ethnic group.) The other five felt their parents would somewhat approve but only under certain conditions, which is similar to my situation. The partner’s educational achievement, family background, cultural sensitivity, attractiveness, and race or ethnicities were all factors that concern the parents. The majority of Korean Americans who were interviewed perceived similarly to their parents, that interethnic Asian marriages are more acceptable than interracial ones. Today, the Korean American community still perceives interracial relationships – particularly those of Korean/Asian women with White/Black men – as originating from dire economic or social circumstances. An example that Gin gives which shows that parent’s attitudes and influence affect their children when choosing a partner for a relationship is about her father telling her and her sisters that he wants them to marry Korean men, and then goes down a list of other racial options. She asked the Korean Americans during the interview if their parents had any preference for which they should marry – and one twenty one year old Korean American woman stated that her parent’s attitude became her attitude toward other ethnic/racial groups, as potential marital partners. The majority (Seventy five percent) fit the parental pattern of preferring Korean Americans first.

In conclusion though we are free to pick partner’s as we choose, and I believe that race/ethnic background don’t matter. That parent’s or figures of authority do shape the way we think and play a significant role in conditioning our social construction of love, and our views on interracial and interethnic relationships.