The Colors of Love
Multiracial People in Interracial Relationships
Published on 7. December 2021
277 pages
978-1-4798-0242-5 (ISBN)
Description
How multiracial people navigate the complexities of race and love
In the United States, more than seven million people claim to be multiracial, or have racially mixed heritage, parentage, or ancestry. In The Colors of Love, Melinda A. Mills explores how multiracial people navigate their complex-and often misunderstood-identities in romantic relationships.
Drawing on sixty interviews with multiracial people in interracial relationships, Mills explores how people define and assert their racial identities both on their own and with their partners. She shows us how similarities and differences in identity, skin color, and racial composition shape how multiracial people choose, experience, and navigate love.
Mills highlights the unexpected ways in which multiracial individuals choose to both support and subvert the borders of race as individuals and as romantic partners. The Colors of Love broadens our understanding about race and love in the twenty-first century.
In the United States, more than seven million people claim to be multiracial, or have racially mixed heritage, parentage, or ancestry. In The Colors of Love, Melinda A. Mills explores how multiracial people navigate their complex-and often misunderstood-identities in romantic relationships.
Drawing on sixty interviews with multiracial people in interracial relationships, Mills explores how people define and assert their racial identities both on their own and with their partners. She shows us how similarities and differences in identity, skin color, and racial composition shape how multiracial people choose, experience, and navigate love.
Mills highlights the unexpected ways in which multiracial individuals choose to both support and subvert the borders of race as individuals and as romantic partners. The Colors of Love broadens our understanding about race and love in the twenty-first century.
Reviews / Votes
"In The Colors of Love, Melinda A. Mills asks whether strict racial categorizations can be disrupted by multiracials in interracial relationships. She explores how multiracials and their partners continuously navigate racial boundaries in the presence of strangers, friends, families, and even themselves. Ultimately, she shows us that multiracial individuals were most likely to choose racial identities and romantic partners that render invisible the multiple racial identities straddled by them and their partners. This well-researched and nuanced monograph is an important read for anyone interested in the future of racial categories." - Grace Kao, co-author of The Company We Keep: Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships from Adolescence to Adulthood "In The Colors of Love, Melinda A. Mills explores how children of interracial couples understand their multiracial identity within their mixed-race families and through their choices for romantic partners. This book presents compelling evidence that multiracial identity is not static, but often shifts in ways that maintain the dominant racial structure rooted in anti-Blackness." - Elizabeth Hughes, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Penn State Abington "The Colors of Love challenges us to consider the complexities of who is multiracial, shifting notions of in/visible mixture, and the racial borders that multiracial people live and love within. Through rich descriptive narratives of multiracial people's experiences, Mills offers a cutting edge and innovative look at the ways that multiracial people navigate their racial identities and romantic relationships amidst the complicated and often conflicting messages from their parents, families and partners. Well researched and engaging, The Colors of Love will have a significant impact on our understandings of not only multiracial people, but also the larger issues of colorism and racism that underlie their experiences." - Erica Chito Childs, editor of The Boundaries of Mixedness: A Global Perspective "Mills' findings contribute to our understanding of multiracial identities, intimate relationships, specifically, interracial relationships, and questions surrounding how/if multiracials blur color lines and the existing racial order." (Sociology of Race and Ethnicity) "Relying on interviews with a snowball sample of 60 individuals to illustrate her theoretical analysis, Mills dives deeply into exploring this well-patrolled world. Her unique focus is useful for understanding the range of issues that American society, which is highly racialized, presents to those crossing long-standing barriers. This is a must read for anyone seriously examining race in the US, especially scholars with a social psychological interest." (Choice)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
24 b/w illustrations
ISBN-13
978-1-4798-0242-5 (9781479802425)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
12/2021
New York University Press
€35.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Person
Melinda A. Mills is Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, Sociology, and Anthropology, and Coordinator of Women's and Gender Studies at Castleton University. She is the author of the award-winning book, The Borders of Race: Patrolling "Multiracial" Identities, and Racial Mixture and Musical Mash-Ups in the Life and Art of Bruno Mars.
