England swings, but its multi-cultural aspects sometimes hits a few hiccups. Interracial couples in England can expect to experience some discomfort in public places. They may become the targets of racial jokes. The UK media is fickle. One day it might celebrate interracial relationships; the next day, stereotype ethnic minorities.
The London Melting Pot
London takes the grand prize for interracial dating in the United Kingdom. Part of it has to do with its history. By the 1940’s, London had become so highly impacted by the Great Depression, the lines began to blur on acceptable marriages by race and lean more toward those who would make good providers. Mixed race children became more of a norm among the working classes, then slowly yet steadily began incorporating the white collar classes.
Today, London has one of the fastest growing interracial populations in the world. Half of all black men are currently involved in a relationship with a white partner. Twenty percent of the school aged children are believed to have a mixed race heritage. More than eighty percent of Londoners approve mixed race dating, versus fifty percent just thirty years ago. This fast-track has some London heads spinning. The baby boom generation still expresses some discomfort over being the grandparents of mixed race children and it’s left a traditionally white media scratching their heads as how to properly depict mixed race situations.
Crude, Rude or Overly Polite
If the United Kingdom is tripping over its own feet trying to establish the interracial connection that will allow it to stay in vogue with the Millennials, its awkwardness comes from a platform of having no idea how to address an interracial relationship. Unlike the United States, it has very little concern with being politically correct. Racial jokes may be blatant, such as “who’s dating your black women?” or “smile when you’re in the shadows so we can see you”.
There is a noticeable difference in the interracial television shows. The United States has a large number of black producers and directors that present successful black television images, such as lawyers, doctors, teachers and college professors, legislators and wealthy business owners. England tends to stereotype its interracial couples, usually with black men dating white women. His success has more to do with his integration into white society than it does with material gain.
The Subtle Integration
The United Kingdom is rapidly becoming a greater melting pot than the United States, but for a very surprising reason. In the United States, the children of a mixed race marriage tend to date ethnic minorities more often than mix with those whose only heritage is white. In the United Kingdom, mixed race children frequently date and marriage into white homes.
Census data is becoming confusing as many of the mixed race children claim to be white rather than separate themselves into an ethnic group. As England becomes more integrated, the cultural lines become more blurred, with the average citizen simply stating, “I’m from Great Britain”.