GUARDED BORDERS: INTERRACIAL TEEN DATING AND PROBLEMS WITH PEERS AND
PARENTS
Increased interests in dating and romantic relationships are defining features of adolescence. In contrast to the
typically mono-sexual friendships of childhood, the prevalence of opposite-sex romantic and sexual
relationships rises dramatically during the teenage years (Carver, Joyner, and Udry 2003). Researchers
commonly attribute this metamorphosis to the physical and emotional changes that accompany the life stage.
However, the social contexts in which these changes occur are equally powerful determinants of teenage
romantic behavior (Brown 1999; Dornbusch et al. 1981). Families, schools, and neighborhoods are important
sites for the enactment of dating rituals and the emergence of sexual identities. The norms present in these
domains help to channel gendered interactions and shape dating behaviors, often forcing early romantic
relationships to serve more as superficial social displays than intimate and supportive friendships (Merten 1996;
Simon et al. 1992).
Young interracial romances may be particularly vulnerable to the norms set by parents and peers.
1
Historically, intimate interracial contact has been one of the most contested areas of American race relations
(Perry 2002). And even though formal barriers to interracial unions have eroded over time and racial attitudes
have become increasingly liberal, interracial dating remains infrequent (Joyner and Kao 2005). Scholars often
link low rates of interracial contact to racially segregated communities or individuals’ preferences for culturally
similar companions (Massey and Denton 1993; Hallinan and Williams 1989; Kalmijn 1998). Often overlooked,
however, are the effects that informal sanctions may have on discouraging or terminating interracial
relationships (Dalmage 2000). Pressures originating from conservative parents or hostile peers may be enough
to end a racially mixed romance, even for couples embedded in racially diverse friendship networks and
integrated schools. These informal sanctions would be particularly effective during the teenage years because
adolescents remain in the homes of parents and immersed in the fishbowl existence of secondary education.
With limited opportunities for changing their environments or maintaining secrecy, interracially dating
adolescents would be at an increased risk of various kinds of sanctioning, including gossip, group exclusion, or
even physical violence.
The social reactions to adolescent interracial dating have important implications for broader race
relations. Race scholars have long viewed intergroup romantic relationships as barometers for racial equality
(Gordon 1964; Bogardus 1968). For these authors, increasing numbers of couples crossing racial boundaries
represents a reduction in intergroup social distances and an erosion of racial barriers to social mobility. Youth
1
I follow the precedent of previous studies by defining racial categories as non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic Blacks,
Hispanics, and Asians (Joyner and Kao 2005; Harris and Sim 2002; Hirschman, Alba, and Farley 2000). Although Hispanic
is a panethnic category comprising multiple races and ethnicities, combining this group with the traditional racial categories
more accurately captures the socially constructed meaning of diversity in modern America (Hirschman, Alba, and Farley
2000).
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Convention