Interracial families were once one of the most taboo issues in the United States, even prohibited in some states. However, due to progression of the nation, as well as other controversial factors coming into play, such as same sex relationships, interracial families have taken a back burner, and are no longer such a hot topic. This change is represented in the media, as Interracial relationship depictions have gone from being unspeakable, to somewhat ok, to ok in a funny light, to acceptable, to normal. As shown in a short segment by NPR from 2005, Americans are moving "away from the interracial relationship as a moment of crisis to simply another relationship," (Boyd), something that is even more true today. We can observe this evolution by looking back at the transformation of interracial couples in TV over the years.
In 1968, only 20% of Americans approved of interracial couples, specifically between blacks and whites (Gallup), but this was when the first interracial kiss (on the lips) appeared on US television, only one year after laws banning interracial marriage were deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. It was between a black woman and a white man, on the Star Trek episode "Plato's Children". While they may have been under mind control of aliens, and forced into the act, it was still a huge historical landmark, and a sign of the progression of television. Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Nyota Uhura in the scene) talks about the filming experience in an article by the Huffington Post, as well as the worries of the director and producers of the show about backlash from the public, especially in the south.
The 'first' interracial kiss, Star Trek "Plato's Children" (1968)
The first interracial couple appeared in primetime TV in 1975, on the sitcom "The Jeffersons". By now, the approval rate of interracial couples was up to approximately 30% (Gallup), and views on interracial relationships were still wary. It should be noted here that the popular sitcom "I Love Lucy", which had its debut in 1951, is often thought of as the first interracial couple on TV; however, this fact is controversial, as Lucy was white-anglo, and Ricky was white-hispanic. It is often disputed, and so not exactly clear, whether 'hispanic' is technically a 'race' or an 'ethnicity', and so whether the pair was truly 'interracial', or 'interethnic' instead. Either way, the show stirred controversy with its diversity, as well as with its content.
I Love Lucy (1951-1957) The Jeffersons (1975-1985)
In 2007, the acceptance of black-white interracial couples was at an all time high of 77% (Gallup), and is only expected to grow. Around this time, interracial families began to flood mainstream TV. Grey's Anatomy showed an asian woman with a black man, Modern Family showed a white man with a latino woman, Happy Endings showed a black man with a white woman, and the list goes on. The variety of races depicted has increased drastically, as has the sheer numbers of interracial couples and families. While the prominence of interracial families is clearly increasing in TV shows, they are still uncommon among ads, as an article by David Morse on AdAge helps to explain. It is interesting to examine this difference, which may be due to, in part at least, a reluctance by companies to do anything that may upset anyone who is a potential consumer- here, anyone against interracial couples.
Modern Family (2009-present) Parenthood (2010-present) Happy Endings (2011-present)
According to an article from the US Census, the number of married interracial couples in the united states has grown by 28% from 2000 to 2010, moving from 7% of total married households to 10%. The total percent of households with interracial, unmarried, opposite sex couples in 2010 was up to 18% of all households with unmarried, same sex couples (2010 Census Brief, Table 7). As the presence of interracial couples increases in the media, so does the number of people accepting of interracial couples. Thus, if there is even more presence of interracial couples in the media, these numbers can only go up.
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