Race Still Matters:Popular Discourse of Interracial Marriage and Asian American Experiences.

In this paper, by looking at the public receptions and the popular cultures? portrayal of interracial marriage between Asian Americans and white Americans, I argue various public anxieties behind the popular discourse of celebratory and liberal view of interracial marriage. First, I examine current social discourses of interracial marriage and problematize its? evasion of gender and racial inequalities. Furthermore, based on my 42 interviews with Asian Americans and white Americans who are in interracial relationships, I argue the significance of addressing racialized anxieties and fears in interracial relationships as a result of history of racial and national violence. Second, by looking at public and family receptions of Asian American ?white American intermarried couples, I examine why the Asian American men and white women (compare to the couple of Asian American women and white men) I interviewed were exposed to more negative public and familial sanctions from whites. I discuss how the narrative of citizenship and the global capitalism in which white men possess full authority has formed particular gender-skewed public perceptions of interracial marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]