Discussion Main / MalignedMixedMarriage

What if society stigmatizes interclass relationships?

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For Music: The Flanders and Swann song "Misalliance" has an example of Fantastic Racism, where the parents of the "right-handed honeysuckle and the left-handed bindweed" disapprove of their offspring reproducing together, saying "Poor little sucker! How will it learn when it is climbing which way to turn? Right? Left? What a disgrace! It may grow straight up and fall flat on its face!"

This makes the existence of people who blur the boundaries between races distressing for people of those races, who will see their identity as being under threat and (in their illogical rage, which is sadly typical of more 'primitive' races) target the unfortunate mixed-race children in their midst.

I took out the "which is sadly typical of more 'primitive' races" because... I don't think that's the right tone, doesn't have any backing and sounds kinda offensive. I mean, what races exactly are being circumspectly described as "primitive" here?

Edited by MarchVee

What about the inversion?

There are a number of works, even today, where an interracial relationship is "not quite right" and instead the characters end up happier with mates of the appropriate (ie their own) race instead at the end. This particularly happens when the minority suitor is rejected but isn't particularly unsympathetic.

Example: In Doctor Who, Mickey Smith (black) is in love with Rose Tyler (white), but she and the Doctor slowly fall in love. The Doctor repeatedly insults Mickey ("Mickey the idiot"), taking him on as a companion only very reluctantly, while he tries to compete to win back Rose's attentions. Later, the Doctor gets another companion, Martha Jones, who immediately falls in love with the Doctor and pursues him unsuccessfully. In the Doctor's tragic ending, it's only a pseudo-human "clone" that ends up with Rose, leaving her happy but him alone. Martha and Mickey, meanwhile, despite having absolutely nothing in common, end up happily married.

This is a recent example, but during the 80's and 90's we saw it frequently. It was an era when racism was openly condemned but when Hollywood was still uncomfortable with interracial relationships. This way, you could have it both ways: an inter-racial love interest that proves you aren't racist, but (they implied) the true happy ending is when everyone is sorted out with someone of the same ethnicity.

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Subject originally raised on Inuyasha Anime discussion page which is gone now Inuyasha has been reorganised as a Manga subcategory.

When the Mixed Marriage became Maligned Mixed Marriage, the issue was raised that there's absolutely nothing stated in the canon about how Inuyasha's parents coped with their marriage. Not even Sesshoumaru's mother shows any animosity about the subject when she very briefly alludes to it. Neither do any of the servants of Inuyasha's father. Any persecution that's happened has only been shown to happen to Inuyasha. While the fandom views it as a logical assumption that the parents would indeed have suffered persecution there's absolutely nothing to back that up in canon.

As a result, the examples were limited to Shiori and Jinenji's parents where the story did discuss the persecution their marriages had suffered, not just the persecution the offspring had suffered. With Inuyasha, only the persecution of the offspring has ever been covered.

Handling Inu Yasha with regards to this trope has never never been resolved given that the example would be based on fanon rather than Canon.

Edited by Wyldchyld If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.

YKTTW discussion for this trope is Here

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