Professor of sociology and faculty research associate at the Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. The United States shows striking racial and ethnic differences in marriage patterns. Compared to both white and Hispanic women, black women marry later in life, are less likely to marry at all, and have higher rates of marital instability. Kelly Raley, Megan Sweeney, and Danielle Wondra begin by reviewing common explanations for these differences, which first gained momentum in the s though patterns of marital instability diverged earlier than patterns of marriage formation. Raley, Sweeney and, Wondra argue that the racial gap in marriage that emerged in the s, and has grown since, is due partly to broad changes in ideas about family arrangements that have made marriage optional.
The Growing Racial and Ethnic Divide in U.S. Marriage Patterns
The Growing Racial and Ethnic Divide in U.S. Marriage Patterns
What do tennis star Serena Williams, U. Kamala Harris and businesswoman Mellody Hobson have in common? But despite these real-world examples of interracial relationships, a Pew Research Center report found that black women are the least likely group of women to marry, especially outside of their own race. Despite this, Judice said race was not an important factor for most of the people she interviewed for the book. Black women are the only group of women in America who cannot take for granted that if they seek marriage to a black man that there will be an ample supply of available men from which to choose. It is almost like the plight of black women looking for eligible partners is the elephant in the room.
Did you know that 40 per cent of young black men in Britain are married to, or live with, a white partner? The trend is less common on the other side of the sexual divide. Even so, one in five young black women has a partner who is white.
By Gretchen Livingston and Anna Brown. Since then, intermarriage rates have steadily climbed. All told, more than , newlyweds in had recently entered into a marriage with someone of a different race or ethnicity. By comparison, in , the first year for which detailed data are available, about , newlyweds had done so.