Racial Ambiguity and Relationship Formation in the United States: Theoretical and Practical Considerations

Posted in Articles, Media Archive, Social Science on 2010-09-06 20:13Z by Steven

Racial Ambiguity and Relationship Formation in the United States: Theoretical and Practical Considerations

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
Volume 20, Number 2 (April 2003)
pages 153-169
DOI: 10.1177/02654075030202002

Angela D. James, Associate Professor of African American Studies
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles

M. Belinda Tucker, Social Psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
University of California, Los Angeles

This article explores in conceptual terms the nature of romantic relationship formation and maintenance when a potential or actual partner does not fit into the dominant racial schema – a situation we define as ‘racial ambiguity.’ When a potential other cannot be classified according to one’s existing notions of racial organization, how does this ambiguity affect approach and maintenance? In the discussion, we first explore the concept of racial ambiguity as a function of the peculiar and distinctive American construction of race. Next, we examine conceptual perspectives that can be used to understand the role of racial classification and racial ambiguity in personal relationship formation and maintenance. And, finally, we discuss strategies for incorporating more fluid understandings of race into research on personal relationships.

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