When love is colorblind

While he conducted research for an essay in high school, IU sophomore David Johnson uncovered the often-forgotten anti-miscegenation laws. Until the Supreme Court case Loving vs. Virginia overturned the laws in 1967, blacks and whites in 17 states couldn't marry.\n"Universities didn't allow interracial dating," said Johnson, who is black.\n"I didn't know about it," said freshman Stephany Juneau, his girlfriend at the time. Juneau is white. "I'm glad I grew up in this time when it's OK to do stuff like this."\nAlthough Johnson and Juneau's relationship was legal, the court of public opinion still had to accept it. Johnson said he was worried about telling his old-fashioned mother about the relationship, and Juneau said her grandfather would have a "heart attack" if he knew Johnson was black. The couple split up last week after four months because of personal reasons.\nDuring the last few decades, the United States has witnessed a gradual shift in tolerance toward interracial relationships. The progressive attitudes of younger generations is partially responsible for the growing tolerance, according to a 1999 survey by The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.\nDespite increasing in popularity, interracial relationships still constitute a miniscule percentage of the general population. The 2000 Census showed interracial marriages made up about 3 percent of all marriages, compared to less than 0.5 percent in 1960.\nSociologists have struggled to explain trends in the interracial dating scene. Inexplicable patterns, such as the greater number of white women than white men dating minorities and the larger number of white-Asian relationships than white-black couples, remain a mystery because of insufficient research.\nEven with increased acceptance, some interracial couples continue to face problems as they strive to dissolve other people's deep-rooted stereotypes. Some have to deal with racial slurs and derogatory remarks. Others worry how their families will react. \nGraduate student Maggy Mendoza grew up with many Chinese and white friends in Pasadena, Calif. Her Colombian parents weren't ecstatic, but they supported her when she started dating a Chinese friend from a small, southern Indiana town.\nMendoza said she never thought ethnic differences could dictate relationships, but they created an unimaginable amount of tension.\n"It's not necessarily cultural clashes, but the things that resulted from us being different cultures," Mendoza said.\nThe distinction between their professions and ideals, for example, created stress. While Mendoza is working to earn a master's degree in elementary education, her ex-boyfriend is attending medical school to become a doctor. During their four-year relationship, she spoke to her ex-boyfriend's parents once. They repeatedly tried to break the couple up, she said. \nSociology professor David James said race continues to negatively affect relationships, although not to the extent it did 40 years ago. Since 1967, the number of blacks marrying other races has increased, leading to a similar trend among other racial groups, he said.\nJames said social scientists consider interracial marriages the most accurate indicator of social boundaries between groups. Sociologists also have studied why one gender more than the other might date a certain race.\nFor example, more white women date minority men than vice versa, according to Princeton University's Committee on Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Explanations for this phenomenon range from the archaic superiority status of whites to the changing concept of beauty.\n"Since the status of 'white' is higher than 'black' and 'male' higher than 'female,' African-American men with higher educations will be more likely to marry white women with lower educations than if the education levels were reversed," James said. \nWhile James looks at the social statuses of interracial couples, others take a more historical perspective. Some sociologists attribute the small number of black-white relationships to the historical struggle of slavery.\n"Years ago, it was both unthinkable and almost suicidal for blacks and whites, male or female, to date," said Akwasi Assensoh, a professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies. \nBut Martin Luther King Jr.'s work and effects of the civil rights movement allowed black-white relationships to grow, Assensoh said. Once blacks and whites were able to share accommodations, they could more openly date, he said.\nComplementing cultures\nWhile sophomore David Johnson and freshman Stephany Juneau were surprised to learn several states didn't allow blacks and whites to date three decades ago, other dating regulations and expectations were eased in recent history. Three years ago, Bob Jones University in South Carolina lifted its ban on interracial dating.\nYet to this day, some couples continue to endure the effects of discrimination.\nSenior Jazz Bagga, an Indian-American Sikh, worked with IU graduate Melissa Pavolka at Village Deli for nearly three weeks before he mustered up the courage to talk to her. The two finally met at a party for a co-worker.\nAlthough Pavolka said she hadn't dated someone outside of her race before, race was never an issue in her relationship with Bagga.\n"There's a certain amount of questioning that wouldn't have come up had I been dating a white guy -- like how to say his name, where he's from, his religion," said Pavolka, who is white. \nBagga, who said his parents are open-minded about him dating outside of his race, went out with a white woman for two years before Pavolka.\nAlthough people have directed racist comments at Bagga, even likening him to terrorists, the couple hasn't faced direct discrimination. Bagga said his dark complexion and black beard have led people to compare him to Osama bin Laden. \nOnce, the two were in a hospital waiting room when a man, who was trying to read letters on an eye chart, started complaining he couldn't see because "Osama over there was in his way," Bagga recalled. Initially, anger and frustration welled up inside Pavolka, causing her to feel helpless, she said. \nBut cultural differences haven't hindered the relationship. Pavolka's mother, a devout Lutheran, has accepted Bagga, but Pavolka said her mother probably would like her to date someone Christian.\nDeep down, Bagga said, his parents likely also want him to marry a traditional, Sikh Indian girl. But because both Bagga and Pavolka do not consider themselves religious, faith hasn't affected the relationship.\nBagga, who was born in Bombay, India, compares his relationship to that of the protagonist of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." In the movie, a Greek Orthodox woman starts dating a non-Greek man, much to the chagrin of her traditional family.\nUnlike the parents in the movie, both Bagga's and Pavolka's families have been immediately accepting of the relationship. But their differences in cultures relate to the movie's wittiness. \nWhile Pavolka's family speaks English, Bagga's parents speak Punjabi, a Hindi dialect. Pavolka said Bagga's mom slipped into Punjabi once around her, but she couldn't understand a word.\nEnvironment affects racial \nperceptions\nSophomore Kenny General is still a Filipino citizen. He moved to the United States 10 years ago, but never took the time to receive his American citizenship.\nNevertheless, General has never gone out with a Filipino woman. He has spent most of his life between U.S. naval bases and white suburbia. His white stepfather worked for the U.S. Navy in the Philippines. He has a biracial younger sister, and his older sister is engaged to a white man.\n"I guess I'm oblivious to (race)," General said. "She's very conscious of it," he joked, gesturing toward his white girlfriend, junior Michelle Henning.\n"I never know I'm in an interracial relationship until she brings it up," he said.\nAsian-Americans are more involved in interracial relationships than blacks. According to the 1990 Census, 36 percent of Asian-American women and 45 percent of Asian-American men had white spouses. Four percent of black women had white husbands, compared to 8 percent of black men having white wives.\nNeither General nor Henning consider race a significant factor in the relationship. They both grew up in similar suburban environments. \nData from preliminary studies on interracial marriages support the idea that social class affects interracial relationships, but the idea remains only a theory, according to the Princeton study. Whites tend to date minorities of the same or higher social class.\nBefore Henning came to IU, she had an infatuation with Asian men, she said. General rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's explanation. \n"The first six months, she referred to me as 'the Asian,'" General said.\nHenning, her white skin and reddish-brown hair a stark contrast to General's deep olive skin and black hair, said their ability to joke about race implies its insignificance in their relationship. Henning leaned toward General, teasing him about his laziness in applying for citizenship. \n"You're just with me so you can stay in the country," Henning said with a giggle. "I knew it."\nBefore General knew Henning had an Asian fetish, he was nervous about Henning's reaction to dating an Asian man. Henning said she wouldn't have stayed with General for 17 months if he had turned out to be a jerk.\nFriends and family members have supported the couple's relationship.\n"When I told my mom, she probably thought (Henning) was white," General said.\n'Betrayal of the brothers'\nFreshman Amber McKee grew up in Danville, Ind., where no blacks and one Hispanic attended her high school. Living in Ashton, she met freshman Randyn Payne, and the two began dating. \nPayne graduated from Carmel High School as one of a handful of black students in a school crammed with white people. He said he didn't date a lot, but was always attracted to white women.\nA surge of black men have begun looking outside their race for women, according to the January 2003 issue of Ebony magazine. Some refer to this trend as the "betrayal of the brothers."\nIn fact, about 66 percent of black-white married couples were composed of black men and white women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 1992.\nPayne said interracial couples have always intrigued him, but he didn't consciously seek out McKee because she was white.\n"If I had grown up in a different environment, predominantly blacks and dating black girls, then maybe in college (dating a white girl) would have been a new experience," Payne said.\nPayne said he doesn't understand the negativity about black men dating white women. \n"Maybe it's hard to have a black guy that's good," Payne said. \n"That's a stupid excuse," he said, correcting himself. "I really don't know why."\nHe added that people's characters overshadow their race, and forming a connection in a relationship can surpass any racial barrier.\n"I was a little worried at first about what my parents would think," McKee said. \nBut after her family overlooked Payne's race, McKee said she hasn't reconsidered the issue.