Mixed Race Studies

100% Multiracial

UrbanFaith.com
2010-06-11

Kyle Waalen

The latest Census estimates show that multiracial people are the fastest growing demographic group in the United States. Yet many still struggle with the question of how many boxes to check. Two Christian women share about the tension and joy of being young and multiracial in America.

Kristy McDonald and Alicia Edison have a lot in common. They are both 27, both Christian women, and they are both children of an African American father and Caucasian mother. If we’re living in a multiracial world, as current demographic trends reveal, then Kristy and Alicia reflect the new face of American society. But is America ready?

The 2010 U.S. Census has reignited the debate about how society pressures multiracial people to choose one race over the other. In fact, President Obama made headlines when he selected “Black” on his census form rather than checking multiple boxes. The boxes we choose indicate more than just the color of our skin. For many reasons, racial identity still matters in America.

UrbanFaith’s Kyle Waalen asked Kristy, a caregiver at a group home for adults with disabilities in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Alicia, a Ph.D. student in sociology at the University of North Texas, to offer their personal perspectives on the challenges of being a mixed-race person in a multiracial society that hasn’t yet figured out how to be multiracial…

…Do ever feel that, as a multiracial person, you fall between the cracks when it comes to racial labels?

KRISTY: First of all, I am multiracial, but my skin tone is very light. When I was younger, I was part of a club at my local YMCA. It was designed to help African American girls make good choices about going to college and doing well in school. When guest speakers came to talk to us, they didn’t know what to think about my skin color. All the other girls at the club where dark-skinned, but I was not.

ALICIA: A multiracial person may fall through the cracks if they choose not to define themselves within the categories that society assigns. On most forms, we are given an alternative of choosing “other.” “Other” is not okay. It is not sufficient. “Other” means that we will continue to be marginalized and that we don’t count. We should be given the option to name ourselves when and how we choose…

Read the entire article here.

The Impact of the Media on Biracial Identity Formation

University of North Texas
December 2007
93 pages
OCLC: 227035319 | 
ARK: ark:/67531/metadc5185

Alicia Edison

Thesis Prepared for the Degree of Master of Science

Biracial individuals undergo a developmental process that is different than monoracial individuals. Not only do they have to develop a strong and cohesive self-esteem, but also develop a strong and cohesive racial identity to have a healthy self-concept. The media is a social structure that has infiltrated into many aspects of American lives, including their racial identity. The media perpetuates current beliefs concerning race and racial identity. This research investigates how biracial identity has been portrayed in the media. Historically, biracial individuals have been portrayed as the tragic “mulatto” because of their confused racial background. In addition, mulatto women have been stereotyped as exotic and sexual objects. A content analysis was used to investigate how the media presents biracial identity. Only movies with black/white biracial individuals were watched. The categories under study included perceived race, character’s race, skin color, likeability, sex appeal, ability to contribute, ability to be violent, mental health, overall positive portrayal social, and negative portrayal score. This study may suggest that the media is making attempts to rectify old stereotypes. Overall, this study does demonstrate that the media portrays biracial and black characters differently in film. One overarching theme from these results implies that the perception of race is more salient than one’s actual race.

Table of Contents

• LIST OF TABLES
• INTRODUCTION
• LITERATURE REVIEW
  • Race
  • History of Race Relations
  • One-Drop Rule
  • Importance of Racial Identity
  • Census
  • Choosing a Race
  • Identity Models
  • Factors in Biracial Identity Construction
  • Family
  • Other Factors
  • Identity Issues Facing Biracial Individuals
  • Well-Being
  • Media
• THEORY
• HYPOTHESES
• PROCEDURE
  • Interrater Reliability Score
  • Data Analysis
  • Results and Discussion
• LIMITATIONS
• CONCLUSIONS
• Appendices
  • A. EVALUATION FORM
  • B. INTERRATOR RELIABILITY SCORES
  • C. LIST OF ACTOR/ACTRESSES AND MOVIES
• REFERENCES

List of Tables

1. Percentage Distribution of Roles Played by Skin Color and Gender
2. Means, Standard Deviations, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effects of Overall Positive Portrayal Score on Character’s Race
3. Means, Standard Deviations, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effects of Overall Positive Portrayal Score on Perceived Race
4. Means, Standard Deviations, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effects of Overall Negative Portrayal Score on Character’s Race
5. Means, Standard Deviations, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effects of Overall Negative Portrayal Score on Perceived Race
6. Percentage Distribution of Roles Played by Women and Skin Color
7. Means, Standard Deviations, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effects of Attractiveness by Character’s Race
8. Means, Standard Deviations, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effects of Attractiveness by Perceived Race
9. Means, Standard Deviations, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effects of Ability to Contribute by Character’s Race
10. Means, Standard Deviations, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effects of Ability to Contribute by Perceived Race
11. Means, Standard Deviation, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effect of Likeability by Character’s Race
12. Means, Standard Deviation, and t-Test for Equality for Means for Effect of Likeability by Perceived Race
13. Means, Standard Deviation, and One-Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) for Effect of Ability to be Violent by Character’s Race
14. Means, Standard Deviation, and t-Test for Equality of Means for Effect of Ability to be Violent by Perceived Race
15. Means, Standard Deviation, and t-Test for Equality of Means for Effect of Skin Color by Character’s Race
16. Means, Standard Deviation, and t-Test for Equality of Means for Effect of Skin Color by Perceived Race

Read the entire thesis here.