ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the important phenomenon of Asian American interethnic marriage, focusing on some of the reasons why US-born/-raised Asian Americans may increasingly opt for co-racials as mates. It teases out some key factors, informed from the stories of the interethnically married participants, which shape romantic preferences and marital choices of US-raised and/or -born Asians. Interethnic marriages are on the rise among Asian Americans. In the last decade or so, mass media outlets began to take notice. A 2012 New York Times article by Rachel Swarns, “For Asian American Couples, A Tie That Binds,” is one example. College was a particularly significant turning point for the small number in the sample who spent their early years in primarily White neighborhoods because it provided opportunities to experience ethnic rediscovery.
