“What’s class got to do with it?”: Images and discourses on race and class in interracial relationships

We hear many stories about interracial relationships. News reports often triumph

the increasing rates of interracial unions, with headlines like “Love is color-blind,”

while popular culture magazines highlight the most recent television or fi lm depic-

tions of interracial couples. Academic studies also offer us the narratives of inter-

racial couples, focusing on their relationships, families, and experiences. Yet how

do these stories change depending on the socioeconomic class status of these indi-

viduals or couples? While attention has been paid to gender and interracial rela-

tionships and the response to these unions, there has been very little discussion of

the importance of class.