Marriage and Ethnicity Around the World

Abstract

Abstract In Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, Goffman (1963) alluded to the “tribal stigmas” of race, religion, and nationality. These stigmas may carry important social-psychological implications for individuals who are devalued along one or more of those dimensions. They may also affect the social and psychological experiences of those individuals’ relationship partners. To what extent are the “tribal stigmas” in question, whether reflecting individuals’ race (i.e., presumed biological heritage) and/or individuals’ religion and nationality (i.e., “faith-based” and “state-based” aspects of presumed cultural heritage, respectively), relevant to the establishment, maintenance, and potential dissolution of contemporary marriages, in the era of the global village? The present chapter will address marriage and ethnicity around the world by surveying available research and evaluating the usefulness of Goffman’s (1959) interactionist role theory—integrated with Thibaut and Kelley’s (1959; Kelley, 1979; Kelley & Thibaut, 1978), within Mead’s (1934/1967) social behaviorism—in light of current trends.