A Discursive Examination of White Americans’ Attitudes about White-Black Interracial Marriages in USA

Abstract

The primary objective of this article is to manifest by means of discourse analysis the attitudes of White Americans towards White-Black interracial marriages. The research draws on qualitative analysis of the discourse of some white Americans to find out the genuine convictions they bear about interracial unions, especially those incorporating Blacks and Whites. Regardless of the fact that White Americans have asserted their approval of White-Black marriages, the results of the study reveal that some White-Americans are still not in favour of their close relatives marrying outside their own race. As Van Dijk (1992) postulates, one of the distinctive peculiarities of contemporary racism discourse is its denial. On accounts of rigid constraints posed upon overt expression of racist perspectives, individuals bring about a set of discursive strategies that enable the deliverance of negative constructs without being trapped by racism charges. In addition to the denial of racism, the results of the research disclose various strategic choices through which white Americans legitimize their views towards white-black interracial marriages. Such choices embark on justifications, denying, excuses, positive self-presentation, negative other-presentation, and blaming the victim. (Van Dijk: 1992)