About this book:

*Romance and Race: Intersections of Love, Prejudice, and Identity* provides a comprehensive global history of how racial ideologies and state power have regulated the most intimate aspects of human life. The book begins by examining the colonial foundations of the Atlantic world, where systems of slavery, concubinage, and the Spanish *casta* hierarchy first codified love into labor and property. These early structures evolved into draconian legal frameworks, such as the American "one-drop rule," Australian policies of forced child removal, and South African apartheid. Each of these regimes utilized the control of marriage and reproduction as a central tool for maintaining racial purity and political dominance.

The text moves beyond Western history to explore the politics of mixed families in colonial Asia, the experiences of South Asian indentured laborers in the Caribbean and East Africa, and the "bachelor societies" created by Chinese exclusion laws. These case studies reveal a recurring pattern where states manipulated demographics and gender ratios to prevent the integration of marginalized groups. The book also analyzes how "scientific" movements like eugenics and religious doctrines provided moral and intellectual justifications for these social taboos, often casting interracial intimacy as a form of biological or spiritual "degeneration."

In its later chapters, the book transitions to the modern era, beginning with the landmark *Loving v. Virginia* decision and its international parallels. It examines the shift from legal prohibition to persistent social and structural barriers, such as residential segregation and the racialized biases of digital dating algorithms. The narrative highlights the lived experiences of mixed-race couples and their children, who must navigate complex "kinship negotiations" with in-laws and communities while forging multifaceted identities in a world that often still demands racial singularity.

The concluding sections address the future of intimacy, calling for a reckon with historical injustices through reparations and "cultural repair." The book emphasizes that while the legal right to marry is now widely established, true intimate justice requires dismantling the lingering stereotypes found in popular culture and addressing the economic inequalities that continue to structure global partner markets. Ultimately, the volume argues that the history of race and romance is a testament to the resilience of human connection against systemic efforts to separate us.

What You'll Find Inside:

• The book traces how racial ideologies have shaped partner choice, family forms, and cultural acceptance across historical periods and regions, from colonial slavery to modern digital dating platforms.
• It examines legal regulation of intimacy through anti-miscegenation laws, the one-drop rule, apartheid statutes, and racial classification systems that dictated who could marry whom.
• The work analyzes how race intersects with gender, class, religion, and sexuality to create complex hierarchies of desirability and belonging in romantic relationships.
• It explores how social taboos, media representations, and cultural narratives have reinforced racial boundaries in relationships while also providing spaces for resistance and reimagining of kinship.
• The book concludes by considering contemporary challenges and possibilities for repair, including algorithmic bias in dating apps, mixed-race identity formation, and policies addressing historical injustices.

Who's It For:

This book is designed for students, scholars, and general readers interested in the historical and social dimensions of race and relationships. It will be particularly valuable for those studying sociology, history, African American studies, ethnic studies, or gender studies who seek a comparative, intersectional analysis of how racial ideologies have shaped intimate life across different regions and eras. Activists, policymakers, and anyone working toward racial justice will also find relevant insights into the legal, cultural, and personal dimensions of intimacy that continue to influence contemporary relationships.