ABSTRACT
Social scientists have a long-standing interest in the study of intimate interpersonal relationships. Historically, intimate relationships have usually been endogamous in nature. Endogamy is the practice of marrying within one's social groups (e.g., ethnicity, race, social class, religion). In fact, there have been social prescriptions, past and present, against exogamy (out-marriage). For example, an anti-miscegenation law was passed in the United States in 1880, which prohibited marriage between whites and “Mongolians,” and it was not overturned until 1948 (Fujino 2000). Whereas endogamy in intimate relationships has been the universal norm, a number of situational and psychological factors can lead individuals to engage in interracial or inter-ethnic relationships. Immigration and the creation of multicultural states clearly provide opportunities for forming inter-ethnic relationships. From an intergroup relations perspective, intimate inter-ethnic relationships can be viewed as exemplars of relationships where the social distance between two members of different ethnic groups has been fully bridged. Moreover, the greater the number of inter-ethnic couples in a multi-ethnic society, the more the boundaries between groups will be seen as permeable.
