Is social perception of interracial relationships changing?

Although the effects of interracial relationships have been debated for several decades, a growing body of research suggests that interracial relationships can promote positive orientations toward members of other racial groups (Tropp, 2007). So, how important is perception? Even though I have been involved in interracial relationships most of my life, I didn’t realize until now how seldom I see interracial relationships represented in the popular media. I don’t watch much television so I must select an example from the vault. My choice .... Tom and Helen Willis from the sitcom The Jeffersons.   
     The Jeffersons is a traditional sitcom, focusing on the characters' interactions with one another rather than political issues or storylines of the late 70”s/early 80’s. It did, however, tackle a few serious topics including suicide, gun control, adult illiteracy, and racism. The Jeffersons was the first television show to have an interracial couple, Tom and Helen, as principle characters.

      Tom Willis is an author and president of Pelham Publishers. He and his wife Helen, live in a luxury apartment in New York's Upper East Side. Tom is white, and Helen is black. This miscegenation was often the butt of, their black neighbor, George Jefferson’s insulting jokes and bigotry. George and Tom eventually became friends (though George still continued to joke at Tom’s expense). Ironically, Tom’s daughter, Jenny Willis marries' George's son, Lionel in 1976. Additionally, Tom is portrayed as a caring person, but often dominated by his wife. He is ridiculed occasionally due to his weight and is known to be a stereotypical horrible dancer.

      Tom’s wife, Helen Willis is the model of regality and an upwardly mobile black woman.  She is sharp, and is especially pointed when it comes to defending herself against George Jefferson’s narrow-mindedness.  George, disliking racially mixed marriages, constantly called both Helen and Tom "zebra" or "chocolate and vanilla". As well, George enjoys calling Tom "honky”. The Jeffersons represented a milestone in popular media for various reasons. This show displayed a interracial relationship as well as a racist black man. Did this portrayal of multiracial relationships help to support or deconstruct the stereotype?

      The upper-middle class setting was a monumental change for the representation of the minority family. That was then. How are interracial couples perceived today? Is there more acceptance for mixing races now than thirty years ago? What responsibility does media have in the manner in which they portray interracial relationships, mixed families, and multiracial children?  
      The choice to engage in a multiracial relationship says much about those involved. It takes enormous will to reject expected social judgement. Aren't we all human. Funny how science is quick to crossbreed a lion with a tiger or a horse with a zebra, but it is taboo for humans to mix races. As a whole, our society examines our individual differences with small minds and with an even smaller scope. Humans tend to fear the unknown and seek refuge in the collective opinion. This collective opinion has been the result of greed; the desire to obtain power and to inhibit those less fortunate. Social construction has thrived on the segregation of status. At least, that is what we are to think. Can this form of judgement ever disappear? No. Ever? No, I don’t think so.  However, I do believe the stereotype is diluting and I would still rather ponder all things possible instead of perpetuating the ignorance that remains to be an epidemic. 

Tropp, L. R. (2007). Perceived discrimination and interracial contact: Predicting interracial closeness among black and white americans . Social Psychology Quarterly, March(70), 70-81. doi: 10.1177/019027250707000108