Breaking Bread - Dining as an Interracial Couple

Depending on any number of factors, including where you live and the type of establishment you are visiting, dining out can as an interracial couple can elicit a range of responses from others. Even if nothing overtly wrong occurs, the anticipation of such an occurrence can make it difficult to enjoy even the finest meals. A recent podcast by the folks at Sporkful covers interracial dining with comedian Phoebe Robinson in a fun and conversational way. There was something quite engaging about listening to an interracial pair (Black Woman and White Man), though not romantically involved, candidly speak about the topic while sharing a meal at a restaurant. I encourage you to listen to it here and to check out other podcasts and posts by Sporkful and Phoebe Robinson. As Phoebe recounted her experiences dating people of a different race and her concerns about stereotypes, I was reminded of a research article I happened across a few years ago.

Researchers [1] interviewed Black and White interracial couples about their choice in leisure activities. While couples reported some feelings of isolation and their preferences for leisure were varied, each couple indicated that they performed some sort of "research" before venturing into new places. Couples reported that they would contact organizations and establishments ahead of time, visit sites before bringing their family, and ask friends about their thoughts concerning the likelihood that the interracial couple would encounter a problem before patronizing a new establishment. It was evident that the partners were responding to the possibility of being mistreated as a result of their interracial status - there are plenty of accounts of such anxieties throughout the interviews - however, the preparation did not necessarily relinquish concerns. Despite these experiences, couples in the study were together for 5, 10, and even 15 years at the time of their interviews, a testament to the resilience of partners in interracial relationships.

Now, the research was conducted nearly two decades ago, there were only six couples interviewed, and they all lived in one city in the United States Midwest, but I am willing to bet that these concerns still exist today. After all, stereotypes are so pervasive about interracial couples, Black and White couples especially, that another group of researchers were compelled to create a scale that measures how strongly people believe in those stereotypes[2]. I don't know if the folks at Sporkful scouted the restaurant they attended, but it seems the food was good and the conversation was better. It addressed the additional concerns that come with interracial dating and dining and the concerns not at all unique to the interracial experience (if and how you share your plate?)

[1]Hibbler, D. K., & Shinew, K. J. (2002). Interracial couples' experience of leisure: A social network approach. Journal Of Leisure Research, 34(2), 135-156.

[2]Lalonde, R. N., Giguère, B., Fontaine, M., & Smith, A. (2007). Social dominance orientation and ideological asymmetry in relation to interracial dating and transracial adoption in Canada. Journal Of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 38(5), 559-572. doi:10.1177/0022022107305238