Interracial Marriage and the U.S. Military: A Test of Status Exchange and Own Race Preferences

Abstract

What roles do racial social distance and individual identity play in determining intermarriage among Black and White individuals in the U.S. military? This research uses interracial marriage as a measure of social distance and hypothesizes that the military lessens the social distance between White and Black individuals. More specifically, this article examines the relative education levels of Black and White married individuals in the military to test theories of market and dyadic exchange using the 2015–2019 American Community Survey (ACS) data. Evidence of weaker racial group boundaries is found for Black male and White female pairings where at least one spouse is in the military. There is also evidence of stronger own race preferences among Black women in the military.