Dominant and marginalized discourses in interracial couples' narratives: Implications for family therapists

Abstract

This study explores interracial couples' family histories, their experiences of their life together, and the dominant and subordinate discourses employed in negotiating racial and ethnic differences. Ten black-white couples were interviewed individually and conjointly. Dominant discourses that emerged from the couples' narratives included those of homogamy, hypersensitivity of persons of color, and the insignificance of familial and societal history. Interracial partners also simultaneously subverted these prevailing ideologies by voicing experiences associated with life at the margins of the society. Dominant and subordinate discourses used by therapists and interracial couples in the therapy room are examined to integrate marginalized "truths" crucial to effective work with interracial couples and persons of color.