Crossing Borders

This study explores how interracial couples experience their life together and negotiate race and gender in their relationships. Ten black-white couples were interviewed individually and conjointly and the descriptive data was analyzed using the method of constant comparison. Results reflect the ways in which interracial couples struggle to employ, resist, and transform the discourse of homogamy in their relationship. Black spouses compared to white spouses demonstrated a greater awareness of and sensitivity to social resistance to the constitution of their relationship, and black spouses' familial and personal histories were sometimes relegated to silence in the couple relationship. Implications for family therapists working with interracial couples are discussed.