PEXELS
For some people love has no barriers and is not based on the colour of your skin.
In a country where we have a diversity of cultures and languages, interracial relationships are most common, where you learn to love someone for who they truly are.
According to the Love To Know relationship hub, the term interracial can be defined as people of different races living in the same country, where in interracial relationships, individuals who are not from the same racial background date each other.
This often results in cultural confrontations due to opposing cultural norms and beliefs, especially among couples of different racial and ethnic groups.
Women’s Health provides ways that you can navigate an interracial relationship:
- Focus on each other’s happiness: The above-mentioned source states that not everyone supports your union, and nasty comments might bring you down.
- Learn more about your partner’s culture: A licensed psychologist, Inika Winslow suggests that learning more about your partner’s identity can aid in better understanding them as an individual. This will also allow you to participate in their customs and traditions appropriately.
- Respect your partners’ experience: Listen even if you don’t comprehend your partner’s views. Respect their background and culture, says Inika.
- Intentionally create a secure relationship space: Camille Lawrence, a Jamaican-Canadian woman, advises creating a safe space in your relationship to allow for vulnerability and honest communication, particularly about race and injustice.
- Be willing to constantly learn: Interracial relationships require you to constantly learn and accept differences, even if mistakes are made. Supporting one another in facing challenges with racial inequality is important.
- Seek an outside community: Emotional support can be found outside of the relationship, particularly among supportive friends who help you in difficult matters within the relationship.
