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From Undesirable to Marriageable

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  • Jennifer Lee

Abstract

Asian Americans are at the vanguard of rising intermarriage in the United States. Once deemed “undesirable†and “unassimilable,†Asian Americans have become the most “marriageable†racial minority group in the country. In this article, I posit that the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act altered the socioeconomic profiles of Asian immigrants to the United States, thereby making them more desirable partners in the marriage market. Further, I explain interracial “marriageability†as a social construction and document how the rising rate of intermarriage has resulted in a growing Asian multiracial population that experiences fewer social identity constraints than do other multiracial Americans. Some demographers claim that these trends reflect a “diversity explosion,†in which racial boundaries are upending, especially for Asian Americans. However, the gendered patterns of intermarriage and the persistence of racial and gender stereotypes, including the “model minority†trope in the case of Asian Americans, indicate that while Asians may have achieved racial mobility, racial boundaries persist and inhibit full incorporation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Lee, 2015. "From Undesirable to Marriageable," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 662(1), pages 79-93, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:662:y:2015:i:1:p:79-93
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716215594626
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cynthia Feliciano, 2005. "Educational selectivity in U.S. Immigration: How do immigrants compare to those left behind?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 42(1), pages 131-152, February.
    2. Roland G. Fryer Jr., 2007. "Guess Who's Been Coming to Dinner? Trends in Interracial Marriage over the 20th Century," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 71-90, Spring.
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