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ABSTRACT
On the heels of the 2000 US Census allowance of multiracial categorization and with rising mainstream discussion of multiracial heritage, questions over the meanings of multiracialism are quite prevalent. Scholars have highlighted how mainstream-oriented and black-oriented media structure (multi)racial conflicts, concepts, and categories. However, sociological analysis has neither examined qualitative differences and nuance among multiracial-oriented media sources nor specified the precise qualitative themes, frames, and discourse of that representation across time and media format. A content analysis of mainstream-, black-, and multiracial-oriented magazine articles demonstrates how varied media sources differently drew upon, resisted, and reproduced distinct understandings of multiracialism to reproduce the dominance of the “Tragic Mulatto” trope. The implications for this study illuminate the import of multiracial self-esteem, the intersection of conservative political movements and black interest groups in the fight for and against a multiracial movement, and the paradoxical role of anti-black stereotypes in multiracial representations.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. We chose 1961, the beginning of the decade in which anti-miscegenation laws were declared unconstitutional (Loving v. Virginia, 1967) and 2011 as it marks first two instances (2000, 2010) in which the U.S. Census allowed for a “mark one or more” racial identification option.
2. This is akin to Benedict Anderson's (1983, 40): “ … the newspaper reader, observing exact replicas of his own paper being consumed by his subway, barbershop, or residential neighbours, is continually reassured that the imagined world is visibly rooted in everyday life”.
3. The Alliance for Audited Media, a non-profit industry, helps ensure media transparency and independently verifies print and digital media circulation.
4. Missing magazines (no electronic, hard-bound, or microforms available) include: Essence (May 1976–April 1982), Scholastic Parent & Child (1993–2000) and People (March 1974–January 1977).
5. Newsweek, Atlantic Monthly, Entertainment Weekly, Life, People, Scholastic Parent & Child, Seventeen, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker, Time, and US News & World Report.
6. Ebony, Essence, and Jet.
7. Black Enterprise and Vibe Vixen.
8. Abolitionist Examiner (2000–); Biracial Child (1994–2002); Interrace (1989–); Interracial Voice (1995–2003); MAVIN (1999–2004); Multiracial Activist (1997–); New People; and Raising Black and Biracial Children (1995–2002).
9. Movement: “advocacy for multiracial people or creating a special status”; Civil Rights Opposition: “the times the term civil rights or traditional civil rights organizations are referenced as opposing a special multiracial status”; New Era: “new racial environment where the importance of race is changing”; Race Is Archaic: “is a segment of the new era assertion where race is mentioned as no longer relevant to American life”; Denial: “the idea that multiracial people do not accept their Blackness”; Black Focus:“any specific references to Black people” Reject Status: “hostility to a multiracial status”; Personal Identity: “of personal or psychological gain from a special status or any personal experience” Group Identity: “the group is or would be affected by a special status”; International: “any specific reference to another country and its multiracial experience”; and Whites: “when the concerns of Whites appear explicitly in the text”.
10. The tragic mulatto portrays mixed-race individuals as emotionally and psychologically unstable. Multiracial individuals accused of passing are trying to gain access to resources only available to whites (Beltrán and Fojas Citation2008b). Hybrid vigor argues that characteristics emerging through cross-breeding have better qualities (Shull Citation1948). Racial bridgebuilders use their in-between status to navigate the social space between races (Beltrán Citation2005). Rockquemore (Citation1999) identifies four biracial identity types: singular (exclusive identification with one race), border (exclusive identification as biracial), protean (contextually based shifting between black, white, or biracial identity), and transcendent (eschews racial categories).
11. Physical Appearance: the physical appearance of multiracial individuals is mentioned; Best of Both Worlds: multiracial individuals benefit from experiencing multiple cultures; Nothing Special: multiracial individuals have no additional benefits or advantages based on their racial background; One-drop Rule: references to hypodescent; Consumption of Goods: goods/services marketed as specific to the needs of multiracial individuals or multiracial individuals are part of a marketing strategy; Criticism of Mainstream Media Depictions: criticism of portrayals of multiracial people in the media; Emphasis on Individuality/Choice: importance of letting individuals choose their racial identity; Logic of Colorblindness: minimizing/disregarding the importance race; Multiculturalism: cultural diversity is discussed; Questions about Family Relation: multiracial individuals are not viewed as members of their own family; Fragment the Population: multiracial people create divisions among racial groups; Reinforcing Multiracial Identities, Attachment to a Collective, or Generating Group Membership: discussing ways to support the adoption of a multiracial identity; Not Tragic: multiracial individuals do not suffer psychological/emotional distress; Continuing Impact of Racism: instances of racism, discrimination, and other forms of racial biases; Racial/Social Justice: activism of individuals/institutions in reducing race-based injustices; Interracial Relationships: references to interracial relationships; Interracial Adoptions: references to transracial adoptions; and Colorism: discrimination due to skin pigmentation.