A Sexological Analysis of Cross-Cultural Marriage and Dating Between China and the United States

Author: Ding Zijiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Chinese people, especially women, who have ventured into the United States have already found a large group of "shortcuts" to integrate into American society—through marriage with Americans. Another group, mostly women, are actively searching with this as their goal. Those who succeed in marriage face conflicts arising from cultural differences, while most marriages remain in the vast middle ground between success and failure. Those who fail to marry or have no intention of doing so but have experienced are not few either. On this challenging new continent, American women seem to have more opportunities to change their fate than men. Why is that? This book provides a multi-angle, comprehensive analysis and exploration of the common social phenomenon of Sino-American romance and marriage (yellow-white marriage) among Chinese Americans and new immigrants from mainland China. It can be said that it is the first sociological work in China to so profoundly reveal issues in this field, and its rich coverage of humanistic, social, and historical knowledge makes it an encyclopedic guide to understanding the love lives of Chinese Americans.
Sex—Love—Marriage—Family: This is an eternal theme. In America, perhaps even more so. Newspapers, magazines, television, radio, the internet, and other media constantly sensationalize this old yet ever-relevant topic. Politicians, thinkers, industrialists, financiers, businesspeople, educators, religious figures, artists, and authorities in all fields ultimately base their professional activities around this central theme. To meet the needs of multicultural communication, the author taught a course titled "Comparative Philosophy of Sexuality in East and West" at a university in Los Angeles. This discussion-based course, from an East-West comparative perspective, broadly covers the following theoretical and practical issues related to "sex" and "love." In the discussions, interethnic romance and sexual relationships naturally became one of the most engaging topics, touching on all the issues mentioned above, such as cross-ethnic romantic love, friendship, extramarital affairs, homosexuality, prostitution, sexual harassment, date rape, and domestic violence. According to a Gallup poll published in USA Today on December 5, 1997, over 57% of young Americans had dated someone of a different race, including whites, blacks, Latinx, and Asians. Looking beyond the classroom and campus to the entire United States, interethnic romance and sexual relationships have permeated every corner of society. This phenomenon naturally brings new reflections and challenges, as well as positive effects of progress and development, alongside "negative effects" of "troubles and crises."
With the unprecedented social transformation in mainland China, an increasing number of Chinese people, whether consciously or unconsciously, have become involved in exchanges between China and the United States. This exchange is all-encompassing, covering everything from the macro to the micro, from the general to the individual, and can be said to involve all the ideas, emotions, desires, values, and behaviors that humans should have. Naturally, this includes sexuality, romance, and family. Many Chinese, as Asians, have developed sexual relationships, romance, and even formed families with Americans, primarily whites. Like all social phenomena, this new form of life includes comedy, tragedy, farce, and more importantly, serious dramas that encompass both sorrow and joy. Based on the author's years of teaching, research, and daily life experiences in the United States, as well as their deep understanding of their homeland's social history and culture, the book aims to reveal some inherent patterns behind the external manifestations of Sino-American romance and sexual relationships.
No social phenomenon is entirely isolated when viewed as a whole; it is more or less influenced by historical, cultural, economic, religious, geographical, and even psychological factors. For example, when a Chinese man or woman comes to America, it may be due to various personal reasons, but from a broader perspective, it is the result of mutual openness between China and the United States. This book attempts to adopt a relatively objective, rational, comprehensive, and scientific attitude in its observation, summary, analysis, and synthesis, covering the following seven aspects:
(1) The historical reasons behind Sino-American romance;
(2) Differences in Sino-American sexual cultures;
(3) The psychological foundation of sexuality in Sino-American romantic relationships;
(4) Some dilemmas and issues in Sino-American romantic relationships;
(5) Practical case studies in Sino-American romantic relationships;
(6) Literary representations of Sino-American romantic relationships;
(7) Trends and prospects for Sino-American romantic relationships.
Although far from a monumental work, this book is the result of extensive research, including the review of numerous professional books, the collection of a large amount of data, and interviews with many relevant individuals. Due to material and space constraints, the author wishes to clarify two points:
(1) This book primarily discusses the romance and sexual relationships between Chinese people and American whites;
(2) This book primarily discusses the romance and sexual relationships between Chinese and American heterosexuals.
Regardless of praise or criticism, there is perhaps one thing that can be said without excessive modesty: in the field of Sino-American romance, this book is a systematic, well-documented, and relatively original monograph. The author did not intend to make this work a dry, purely academic treatise, nor did they blindly pursue "market appeal." Therefore, they hope that the book can be "deep for the deep, shallow for the shallow," "，" (the benevolent see benevolence, the wise see wisdom), or "，" (the refined see refinement, the vulgar see vulgarity"). But if "the profane see profanity, the lecherous see lechery," that is unavoidable and not what the author desires.