More Asian-Americans marrying within their race
 

WHEN she was a philosophy student at Harvard College eight years ago, Liane Young never thought twice about all the interracial couples who flitted across campus, arm and arm, hand in hand. Most of her Asian friends had white boyfriends or girlfriends. In her social circles, it was simply the way of the world.

But today, the majority of Ms. Young’s Asian-American friends on Facebook have Asian-American husbands or wives. And Ms. Young, a Boston-born granddaughter of Chinese immigrants, is married to a Harvard medical student who loves skiing and the Pittsburgh Steelers and just happens to have been born in Fujian Province in China.

Ms. Young said she hadn’t been searching for a boyfriend with an Asian background. They met by chance at a nightclub in Boston, and she is delighted by how completely right it feels. They have taken lessons together in Cantonese (which she speaks) and Mandarin (which he speaks), and they hope to pass along those languages when they have children someday.

“We want Chinese culture to be a part of our lives and our kids’ lives,” said Ms. Young, 29, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College who married Xin Gao, 27, last year. “It’s another part of our marriage that we’re excited to tackle together.”

Interracial marriage rates are at an all-time high in the United States, with the percentage of couples exchanging vows across the color line more than doubling over the last 30 years. But Asian-Americans are bucking that trend, increasingly choosing their soul mates from among their own expanding community.

From 2008 to 2010, the percentage of Asian-American newlyweds who were born in the United States and who married someone of a different race dipped by nearly 10 percent, according to a recent analysis of census data conducted by the Pew Research Center. Meanwhile, Asians are increasingly marrying other Asians, a separate study shows, with matches between the American-born and foreign-born jumping to 21 percent in 2008, up from 7 percent in 1980.

Asian-Americans still have one of the highest interracial marriage rates in the country, with 28 percent of newlyweds choosing a non-Asian spouse in 2010, according to census data. But a surge in immigration from Asia over the last three decades has greatly increased the number of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, giving young people many more options among Asian-Americans. It has also inspired a resurgence of interest in language and ancestral traditions among some newlyweds.

In 2010, 10.2 million Asian immigrants were living in the United States, up from 2.2 million in 1980. Today, foreign-born Asians account for about 60 percent of the Asian-American population here, census data shows.

“Immigration creates a ready pool of marriage partners,” said Daniel T. Lichter, a demographer at Cornell University who, along with Zhenchao Qian of Ohio State University, conducted the study on marriages between American-born and foreign-born Asians. “They bring their language, their culture and reinforce that culture here in the United States for the second and third generations.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/fa...e.html?_r=1&hp
Back in 2010 it was reported interracial marriage between hispanics/asians with whites had decreased in percentage so many already knew this, not sure if AP tho

i think this is a great trend!

i think the propensity for asians to date interracially is sparked by the overall small numbers of asians in america more than anything else, which this article touches on, but i don't doubt that if there were more asians living in america asians would probably be some of the least likely to date outside of their race. they seem to all have very strong pride in their heritage and culture etc.

idkkkk though..

This has to do with the increase in Asian Americans in absolute and relative numbers among the population, I guess. Marriage outside the group rates should be corrected by the percentage of people there are inside the group to see how truly exogamous the minority or majority is.

For example, if all things were random and noone was endogamous, then in a city that was 5% Asian and 95% non-Asian you would find 95% of Asians married to non-Asians. You see numbers that are lower than that (let's say, 30% married to non-Asians). This shows how prevalent endogamy is. But to someone who hasn't studied population demographics, this seems very high, especially compared to the majority group (let's say non-Asians marry within their group 90% of times). A minority exogamy ratio will, all things constant, be higher than a majority due to simply this proportion effect.

Now when the minority's proportion in the population rises, then even if there's no change in the exogamy factor (culture or attitude), there will be an increase in endogamous marriages. If the city becomes 50% Asian and 50% non-Asian, then there will be more Asian partners available and, with the same endogenous exogamy ratio, there will be more endogamous marriages (let's say 75% Asians married with Asians and 25% Asians married with non-Asians).

Really? I've always thought Asian been marrying within their race for a long time. Just few individuals dating outside somewhat created this "stereotype" or "assumption" that Asian people like to date outside. I find that ridiculous. The west and its media sure know how to fool people., create stereotypes and boost people's ignorance. LOL

I'm from the west coast of the United States and lots of Asians here date and marry other Asians. Hmmm, growing up, almost all the Asians I know dated and married Asians. LOL

aren't you Hmong? ive never seen many Hmong date outside their race. I know a Hmong girl who was sold to a guy and that was like 8 years ago.

From my expierience Asians are very strict on dating outside of thier ethnicity and i think it is actually pretty racist

Not that strict. I have relatives who actually went ahead an married Aframs, Chinese, Americans, Catholic Italians -all- who also were Americans. It depends on the household. But true, a lot have the statehood, to not allow too much interaction.

I'm sure you wouldn't mind the Jews mixing themselves out of existence.

Yes, we don't sell our daughters.... more likely, she agrees to marry the guy or unless she lost her virginity and must marry the guy which is why she was sent off... but we don't do arrange marriage nor do we sell our daughters...

You're correct, not many Hmong date outside the race.

Asingh. In the USA most peoples perception is that Asian means East Asian. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/tongue.gif