Chinese American Intermarriage

Abstract

Intermarriage is a growing phenomenon among the Chinese in the United States. Reasons are: More Chinese are coming to this country resulting in a doubling of the population over the past decade; mixed marriages are no longer illegal; the Chinese are intermingling; and social barriers against them have been lowered. Nevertheless, marriage with a person of a different race or ethnicity can pose problems between the couple involved due to physical or cultural differences and Lo mixed offspring of the union. Family objection is a major hurdle and puts an extra burden on the relationship. Societal attitudes are changing, but not fully accepting as yet. This study looks at Chinese American intermarriage based on data in New York City. Findings are drawn from census data, marriage license applications, and personal interviews with 50 intermarried couples. It is a pioneer study revealing rates of intermarriage. It provides age, sex, generation, education, occupation, income, and ethnicity of the marital partners. It gives divorce rates, family and societal attitudes as well as fertility rates for in and outmarried Chinese females. Some comparisons are made with non-Chinese groups and Chinese in other regions of the country.

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