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Kalayla is biracial. What's your viewpoint on interracial marriages, especially in the present day? Do you think it's acceptable? Could it have contributed to the painful experiences that Kalayla goes through?

Joseph_ngaruiya wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 02:59 Kalayla is biracial. What's your viewpoint on interracial marriages, especially in the present day? Do you think it's acceptable? Could it have contributed to the painful experiences that Kalayla goes through?

Of course it is acceptable; I think it is quite commonplace in our world today. While its possible that this caused some of Kalayla's hardships, I feel that it was more likely a result of low socio-economic status, and other factors.

I believe it is much more acceptable today, compared to previous decades. As far as her difficulties go, I think they stem more from the loss of her father and becoming part of a single parent household.

Maconstewart wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 07:34 I believe it is much more acceptable today, compared to previous decades. As far as her difficulties go, I think they stem more from the loss of her father and becoming part of a single parent household.

It's most definitely more acceptable today, likely in part to the fact that our culture has become more mobile than previous decades. While I agree that being in a lower-income, single-parent household created a lot of Kalayla's issues, racism was likely still the largest factor.

Even though interracial marriages are more acceptable in the United States, the reality is that there are cultures that tend to be more biased and unaccepting of other races. Consequently, they will make life significantly more difficult. In some cultures the family will be completely disowned and unwelcome.

Interracial marriage is acceptable, there's no reason why it shouldn't be. Kalayla's hardships weren't caused by being biracial, although it could be a factor.

Joseph_ngaruiya wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 02:59 Kalayla is biracial. What's your viewpoint on interracial marriages, especially in the present day? Do you think it's acceptable? Could it have contributed to the painful experiences that Kalayla goes through?

Interracial marriage is actually a good thing, in my opinion. However, there are a lot of challenges that comes with it, despite the fact that it is an acceptable practice in the society.

The first and most prominent challenge is ironically 'acceptance'. While is a fact that the society and the law accepts interracial marriage, individuals and families have failed to accept this practice as easily as 'the society'. That is to say, it is acceptable so long as it does not directly affect a family. For instance, interracial marriage must have been legally and socially acceptable at the time this book is set in. However, that acceptance ended at the point where it was directly required of Maureen's family. This is not to say that there aren't families or individuals who have embraced interracial marriage. This however, is to point out the irony of societal acceptance without individual acceptance.
Another major challenge of interracial marriage would be clash of cultures. This also happens in inter-country marriage (if there's a word like that), and even in inter-ethnic marriage.This one too partially hinges on acceptance, although it is more easily resolveable.

So, in response to whether interracial marriage contributed to the pain Kalayla experiences, I say yes. For one, I believe Kalayla would have had a happier childhood if she had grown up with her maternal family's love and acceptance. Her mother, Maureen would have also been happier if she had received her family's blessings and acceptance. She also wouldn't have suffered financial difficulties to the extent that she did in this book because, she would have had her family's encouragement and contribution. Interracial marriage was the indirect cause of all these. More precisely, Maureen's family's reaction to interracial marriage was the primary cause of her pain.

Nonetheless, I still think interracial marriage is a good thing that would be enjoyed at it's best.

I believe interracial marriages and families are relatively and widely accepted today. In some communities it is still a wonder and a conversation topic, but generally there is no discrimination or frowning about it. However, since we live in a diverse world, there are still outliers who are wrongfully convinced and dislike biracial individuals. So I see where Kalayla's experience stems from.

Interracial marriage is very much acceptable in the present day especially since the world is fast becoming a global village. Though it could have contributed to the heartaches in Kaylala, it is by no means unacceptable.

Stephanie Elizabeth wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 05:55

Joseph_ngaruiya wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 02:59 Kalayla is biracial. What's your viewpoint on interracial marriages, especially in the present day? Do you think it's acceptable? Could it have contributed to the painful experiences that Kalayla goes through?

Of course it is acceptable; I think it is quite commonplace in our world today. While its possible that this caused some of Kalayla's hardships, I feel that it was more likely a result of low socio-economic status, and other factors.

Maconstewart wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 07:34 I believe it is much more acceptable today, compared to previous decades. As far as her difficulties go, I think they stem more from the loss of her father and becoming part of a single parent household.

I agree, social and economic factors also contribute to Kalayla's problems.

Joseph_ngaruiya wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 02:59 Kalayla is biracial. What's your viewpoint on interracial marriages, especially in the present day? Do you think it's acceptable? Could it have contributed to the painful experiences that Kalayla goes through?

How do you define interracial? For example, me and my husband come from different countries, and even though we are both white it is clear our origins are very different. Does that make my marriage interracial? I guess you meant marriages where one is black and another one is white? In both cases I think interracial marriages nowadays are very common and very much acceptable. It creates some challenges if there's a different cultural background, but those can be overcome. Every marriage has some sort of problems anyway, that kind of comes with the package and what comes to Kalayla's problems, I think multiple reasons can be recognized.

One of the biggest advantages to the interracial marriage is the ability to learn more about a new culture. When you only have relationships with people from your own culture, you don not expand your knowledge and are often less accepting of others. kalaya is doing hardworking.
It is also important to consider how children of the interracial couples are affected. The racial issues that hlkids deal with are no longer quite as traumatic, but some children of the interracial couples do find it hard to find their identity. They often do not feel accepted by either race.

Interracial marriages are definitely acceptable to me and nowadays, especially in certain cities where there is a lot of diversity. I've never been to Massachusetts so I don't have any idea as to the level of racism in the setting of the story, but there are definitely places in the USA where a girl like Kalayla will have a much harder time with being interracial than others. Personally, it seemed like other factors, such as poverty and lack of a father, had more of an impact on Kalayla's painful experiences.

Kirsi_78 wrote: ↑03 Sep 2020, 03:16

Joseph_ngaruiya wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 02:59 Kalayla is biracial. What's your viewpoint on interracial marriages, especially in the present day? Do you think it's acceptable? Could it have contributed to the painful experiences that Kalayla goes through?

How do you define interracial? For example, me and my husband come from different countries, and even though we are both white it is clear our origins are very different. Does that make my marriage interracial? I guess you meant marriages where one is black and another one is white? In both cases I think interracial marriages nowadays are very common and very much acceptable. It creates some challenges if there's a different cultural background, but those can be overcome. Every marriage has some sort of problems anyway, that kind of comes with the package and what comes to Kalayla's problems, I think multiple reasons can be recognized.

The challenges faced by interracial couples are often the result of negative societal attitudes about interracial relationships. As it becomes common to have a person of color as your spouse, the challenges are reducing. I also agree that Kalayla's problems have more reasons to them than this. It's such a pity how hard Maureen works to make ends meet.

My+bookclub12 wrote: ↑03 Sep 2020, 18:25 One of the biggest advantages to the interracial marriage is the ability to learn more about a new culture. When you only have relationships with people from your own culture, you don not expand your knowledge and are often less accepting of others. kalaya is doing hardworking.
It is also important to consider how children of the interracial couples are affected. The racial issues that hlkids deal with are no longer quite as traumatic, but some children of the interracial couples do find it hard to find their identity. They often do not feel accepted by either race.

I believe currently fewer laws are forbidding interracial marriages than before. And interracial marriages are indeed a chance to learn about different cultures. However, would you say that Kalayla goes through an identity crisis?

Arimart99 wrote: ↑04 Sep 2020, 20:02 Interracial marriages are definitely acceptable to me and nowadays, especially in certain cities where there is a lot of diversity. I've never been to Massachusetts so I don't have any idea as to the level of racism in the setting of the story, but there are definitely places in the USA where a girl like Kalayla will have a much harder time with being interracial than others. Personally, it seemed like other factors, such as poverty and lack of a father, had more of an impact on Kalayla's painful experiences.

Interracial relationships and marriages are becoming less controversial for several reasons including, awareness and social-political influence. Jeannie doesn't delve into it extensively, but you can see Kalayla's insecurities stemming from it.