Biracial Families: Crossing Boundaries, Blending Cultures, and Challenging Racial Ideologies

Description

This interdisciplinary volume surveys the diverse experiences of biracial families, both across and outside the black/white binary. The book examines the deep-rooted social contexts that inform the lifespan of interracial families, from dating and marriage through the stages of parenthood, as well as families’ unique responses and realities. Through a variety of structures and settings including blended and adoptive families, contributors describe families’ strengths and resilience in meeting multiple personal and larger social challenges. The intricacies of parenting and family development are also revealed as an ongoing learning process as parents and children construct identity, culture, and meaning. Among the topics covered: Social constitutionality of race in America: some meanings for biracial/multiracial families. Interracial marriages: historical and contemporary trends. Racial socialization: a developmental perspective. Biracial families formed through adoption. Diverse family structures within biracial families. Racial identity: choices, context, and consequences. Addressing lingering gaps in the existing literature and highlighting areas for future study, Biracial Families gives readers a fuller understanding of a growing and diversifying population. Its depth and breadth of coverage makes the book an invaluable reference not only for practitioners and researchers, but also for educators and interracial families across the spectrum. Front Matter ....Pages i-xviii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Introduction (Roudi Nazarinia Roy, Alethea Rollins)....Pages 3-8 Social Constitutionality of Race in America: Some Meanings for Bi/Multiracial Families (Farrell J. Webb, JahRaEl Burrell, Sean G. Jefferson)....Pages 9-32 Questions and Concerns Regarding Family Theories: Biracial and Multiracial Family Issues (Farrell J. Webb, Vanessa Gonlin)....Pages 33-57 Front Matter ....Pages 59-59 Partnering Across Race (James E. Brooks, Jeremy Lynch)....Pages 61-79 Interracial Marriages: Historical and Contemporary Trends (Chalandra M. Bryant, Jeneé C. Duncan)....Pages 81-104 Transition to Parenthood (Roudi Nazarinia Roy)....Pages 105-127 Front Matter ....Pages 129-129 Parenting Mixed-Race Children (Fabienne Doucet, Marcella Runell Hall, Melissa Giraud)....Pages 131-158 Racial Socialization: A Developmental Perspective (Alethea Rollins)....Pages 159-181 Biracial Families Formed Through Adoption (Leigh A. Leslie, Katie M. Hrapczynski, Jennifer L. Young)....Pages 183-204 Front Matter ....Pages 205-205 Diverse Family Structures Within Multiracial Families (Henry L. Harris, Katie W. Lamberson, Clare P. Merlin)....Pages 207-223 Racial Identity: Choices, Context, and Consequences (Annamaria Csizmadia, Susan White)....Pages 225-245 New Directions (Alethea Rollins, Roudi Nazarinia Roy)....Pages 247-253 Back Matter ....Pages 255-260