Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Talking Color-Blind: Justifying and Rationalizing Attitudes Toward Interracial Marriages in Sweden

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Racialization, Racism, and Anti-Racism in the Nordic Countries

Part of the book series: Approaches to Social Inequality and Difference ((ATSIAD))

Abstract

Racial color-blindness, the belief that race should not be seen and noticed, is widespread in all aspects of Swedish society. However, color-blindness does not necessarily mean that there is no racial prejudice in Sweden. This chapter, based on interviews, explores the discourse of color-blindness in talking about attitudes toward interracial marriages in Sweden. The interview results show that color-blind talk is established through justification of racial attitudes as natural by stressing individual choice and gender equality and through focusing on the cultural differences that can bring problems to interracial marriages and undermine the welfare of the family. These explanations emerge as a rational way of understanding the attitudes and make the racial preference sound reasonable rather than prejudiced.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 27.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    For detailed results see Sayaka Osanami Törngren, Love Ain’T Got no Color?: Attitude Toward Interracial Marriage in Sweden (Malmö; Norrköping: IMER/MIM/Malmö högskola; Migration och Etnicitet/REMESO/Linköpings universitet, 2011); Sayaka Osanami Törngren, “Attitudes Toward Interracial Marriages and the Role of Interracial Contacts in Sweden,” Ethnicities (2016), https://doi.org/10.1177/1468796816638400.

References

  • Apfelbaum, E. P., Norton, M. I., & Sommers, S. R. (2012). Racial Color-Blindness Emergence, Practice, and Implications. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(3), 205–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Apfelbaum, E. P., Sommers, S. R., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Seeing Race and Seeming Racist? Evaluating Strategic Colorblindness in Social Interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(4), 918.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, J. (2016). Jämlikhetsdata Och Identitetsvänsterns Obehagliga Debatt. Retrieved August 15, 2017, from http://moderaterna.net/botkyrka/2016/04/jamlikhetsdata-och-identitetsvansterns-obehagliga-debatt

  • Bonilla-Silva, E. (1997). Rethinking Racism: Toward a Structural Interpretation. American Sociological Review, 62(3), 465–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonilla-Silva, E. (2000). ‘This Is a White Country’: The Racial Ideology of the Western Nations of the World-System. Sociological Inquiry, 70(2), 188–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonilla-Silva, E. (2010). Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States (3rd ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonilla-Silva, E. (2015). The Structure of Racism in Color-Blind, “Post-Racial” America. American Behavioral Scientist, 59(11).

    Google Scholar 

  • Borevi, K. (2013). Understanding Swedish Multiculturalism. In P. Kivisto & Ö. Wahlbeck (Eds.), Debating Multiculturalism in the Nordic Welfare States (pp. 140–169). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Botkyrka kommun. (2015). Jämlikhetsdata. Retrieved August 15, 2017, from https://www.botkyrka.se/kommun--politik/hallbar-utveckling-och-manskliga-rattigheter/ett-interkulturellt-botkyrka/jamlikhetsdata.html

  • Brekke, J.-P., & Brochgrevink, T. (2007). Talking about Integration—Discourses, Alliances and Theories on Labour Market Integration in Sweden. Institute for Social Research, Oslo. Retrieved August 15, 2017, from http://www.temaasyl.se/Documents/Brekke2.pdf

  • Broberg, G., & Tydén, M. (2005). Oönskade i Folkhemmet: Rashygien Och Sterilisering i Sverige. 2, [utök] uppl ed. Stockholm: Dialogos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronson, P., & Merryman, A. (2009). NurtureShock. London: Ebury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demker, M., & Johansson Heinö, A. (2013). Slopa Kollektiva Identiteter i Den Officiella Statistiken. Dagens Nyheter, 07/21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinamarca, R., Jallow, M., & Riazat, D. (2018). Antirasism är inte att förneka att färger finns. Expressen. Retrieved June 1, 2018, from https://www.expressen.se/debatt/antirasism-ar-inte-att-forneka-att-farger-finns/

  • Ehn, B. (1996). Vardagslivets Etnologi: Reflektioner Kring En Kulturvetenskap. Stockholm: Natur och kultur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferber, A. L. (2012). The Culture of Privilege: Color-Blindness, Postfeminism, and Christonormativity. Journal of Social Issues, 68(1), 63–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frankenberg, R. (1993). White Women, Race Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Furuhagen, B. (2007). Den Svenska Rasbiologins Idehistoriska Rötter, En Inventering Av Forskningen. Stockholm: Forum för levande historia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, C. A. (2003). Color-Blind Privilege: The Social and Political Functions of Erasing the Color Line in Post Race America. Race, Gender & Class, 10(4), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, D. T. (1993). Racist Culture: Philosophy and the Politics of Meaning. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, T. (2007). En Fiende Till Civilisationen: Manlighet, Genusrelationer, Sexualitet Och Rasstereotyper i Svensk Filmkultur Under 1920-Talet. Lund: Sekel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagerman, M. (2007). Det Rena Landet: Om Att Uppfinna Den Svenska Nationalmyten. Stockholm: Nordstedts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hambraeus, U. (2014). Rasbegreppet ska bort ur lagen. SVT Nyheter. Published July 30, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2017, from https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/rasbegreppet-ska-bort-ur-lagen

  • Harvey, D. (2007). Neoliberalism as Creative Destruction. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 610(1), 21–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinö, A. J. (2009). Democracy between Collectivism and Individualism. De-Nationalisation and Individualisation in Swedish National Identity. International Review of Sociology, 19(2), 297–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hübinette, T. (2015). Vad Är Jämlikhetsdata? Tumba: Mångkulturellt centrum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hübinette, T., Hörnfeldt, H. F., & Rosales, R. L. (Eds.). (2012). Om Ras Och Vithet i Det Samtida Sverige. Tumba: Mångkulturellt centrum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hübinette, T., & Hylten-Cavallius, C. (2014). White Working Class Communities in Stockholm. Open Society Foundations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hübinette, T., & Lundström, C. (2011). Sweden after the Recent Election: The Double-Binding Power of Swedish Whiteness through the Mourning of the Loss of ‘Old Sweden’ and the Passing of ‘Good Sweden’. Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 19(1), 42–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughey, M. W., & Embrick, D. G. (2015). Paving the Way for Future Race Research Exploring the Racial Mechanisms within a Color-blind, Racialized Social System. American Behavioral Scientist, 59(11), 1347–1357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ismail, Evin (2018). Lögn, förbannad lögn och statistik. Arbetarbladet. Retrieved June 1, 2018, from https://www.arbetarbladet.se/artikel/opinion/ledare/logn-forbannad-logn-och-statistik-7

  • Jacobsson, I. (1999). Kan Man Vara Svart Och Svensk?: Texter Om Rasism, Antisemitism Och Nazism. 1. uppl ed. Stockholm: Natur och kultur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jebari, K., & Magnusson, M. (2013). En Färgblind Stat Missar Rasismens Nyanser. Tidskrift För Politsk Filosofi, 2, 2013–2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalonaityte, V., Kwesa, V., & Tedros, A. (2007). Att Färgas Av Sverige: Upplevelser Av Diskriminering Och Rasism Bland Ungdomar Med Afrikansk Bakgrund i Sverige.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, P. A. (2003). Racists Or Tolerant Multiculturalists? how do they Begin? American Psychologist, 58(11), 897–909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keskinen, S. (2009). Complying with Colonialism: Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Nordic Region. Aldershot: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khosravi, S. (2006). Manlighet i Exil: Maskulinitet Och Etnicitet Hos Iranska Män i Sverige. In Simon Ekström and Lena Gerhlm (Eds.), Orienten i Sverige: Samtida Möten Och Gränssnitt (pp. 77–104, 1. uppl ed.). Lund: Studentlitteratur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lieberman, R. C. (2006). ‘The Storm Didn’t Discriminate’ Katrina and the Politics of Color-Blindness. Du Bois Review, 3(1), 7–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundberg, P. (2014). Gul Utanpå. Stockholm: Raben & Sjögren.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundström, C. (2007). Svenska Latinas: Ras, Klass Och Kön i Svenskhetens Geografi. Göteborg, Stockholm: Makadam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattsson, K. (2004). ‘Den Färgblinda Marknaden’ Och Välfärdens Rasifiering. In K. Mattsson, F. Anthias, & I. Lindberg (Eds.), Rasismer i Europa: Arbetsmarknadens Flexibla Förtryck: Rapport Från Forskarseminariet (pp. 98–126). Agora and Agora forskarnätverk. Stockholm: Agora.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattsson, K. (2005). Klonad Skönhet—Fröken Sverige Och Andra ‘Missar’ i Kritisk Belysning. In G. Forsberg & C. Grenholm (Eds.), Och Likväl Rör Det Sig: Genusrelationer i Förändring (pp. 191–202). Karlstad: Karlstad University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moran, R. F. (2001). Interracial Intimacy: The Regulation of Race & Romance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moras, A. (2010). Colour-Blind Discourses in Paid Domestic Work: Foreignness and the Delineation of Alternative Racial Markers. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 33(2), 233–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulinari, D. (2008). Women Friendly? Understanding Gendered Racism in Sweden. In K. Melby, A.-B. Ravn, & C. Carlsson Wetterberg (Eds.), Gender Equality and Welfare Politics in Scandinavia: The Limits of Political Ambition? (pp. 167–182). Bristol: Policy Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nam, D. (2007). P3 Special: Mamma Kines. Pappa Japan: Sveriges Radio.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osanami Törngren, S. (2011). Love Ain’t Got no Color?: Attitude Toward Interracial Marriage in Sweden. Malmö; Norrköping: IMER/MIM/Malmö högskola; Migration och. Retrieved from Etnicitet/REMESO/Linköpings universitet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osanami Törngren, S. (2013). Ras Och Etnicitet. In B. Petersson & C. Johansson (Eds.), IMER Idag: Aktuella Perspektiv På Internationell Migration Och Etniska Relationer (pp. 90–111). Liber.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osanami Törngren, S. (2016). Attitudes Toward Interracial Marriages and the Role of Interracial Contacts in Sweden. Ethnicities, 16(4), 568–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osanami Törngren, S., & Wigerfeld, A. S. (2018). Det är inte alltid fel att kategorisera människor. Svenska Dagbladet. Retreived June 1, 2018, from https://www.svd.se/det-ar-inte-alltid-fel-att-kategorisera-manniskor

  • Plaut, V. C., Thomas, K. M., & Goren, M. J. (2009). Is Multiculturalism or Color-Blindness Better for Minorities? Psychological Science, 20(4), 444–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabo, A. (1997). Free to Make the Right Choice? Gender Equality Policy in Post-Welfare Sweden. In C. Shore & S. Wright (Eds.), Anthropology of Policy: Critical Perspectives on Governance and Power. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rakar, F. (2010). Ökad Inkludering Genom Språk—Förslag Och Underlag Till Insatser Inom Fokusområde Språk i Skåne Län. Retrieved August 16, 2017, from http://www.lansstyrelsen.se/skane/SiteCollectionDocuments/Sv/manniska-och-samhalle/integration/mottagning-och-etablering-av-nyanlanda/Avslutade%20aktiviteter/Forstudie_Okad_inkludering.pdf

  • Root, M. P. P. (2001). Love’s Revolution: Interracial Marriage. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblatt, P. C., Karis, T. A., & Powell, R. D. (1995). The White Partner’s Family. In P. C. Rosenblatt, T. A. Karis, & R. D. Powell (Eds.), Multiracial Couples: Black and White Voices (pp. 63–99). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Runfors, A. (2006). Fängslande Frihet: Paradoxer Och Dilemman i Den Moderna Frihetsvisionen. In S. Ekström & L. Gerholm (Eds.), Orienten i Sverige: Samtida Möten Och Gränssnitt, (p. 329, 1. uppl ed.). Lund: Studentlitteratur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Runfors, A. (2016). What an Ethnic Lens Can Conceal: The Emergence of a Shared Racialised Identity Position among Young Descendants of Migrants in Sweden. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42(11), 1846–1863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SVT Nyheter Stockholm. (2015). Alice Teoderescu Och Kitimbwa Sabuni i Debatt Om Jämlikhetsdata. Retrieved August 16, 2017, from https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/stockholm/alice-teoderescu-och-kitimbwa-sabuni-i-debatt-om-jamstalldhetsdata?

  • Tigervall, C. (2008). Samtal Med Adoptivföräldrar Om Diskriminering Och Motståndsstrategier. In T. Hübinette & C. Tigervall (Eds.), Adoption Med Förhinder: Samtal Med Adopterade Och Adoptivföräldrar Om Vardagsrasism Och Etnisk Identitet. Tumba: Mångkulturellt centrum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trotzig, A. (2001). Blod Är Tjockare Än Vatten. Ny utg. ed. Stockholm: En bok för alla.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden

    Sayaka Osanami Törngren

Authors
  1. Sayaka Osanami Törngren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sayaka Osanami Törngren .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Culture and Global Studies, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Peter Hervik

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Osanami Törngren, S. (2019). Talking Color-Blind: Justifying and Rationalizing Attitudes Toward Interracial Marriages in Sweden. In: Hervik, P. (eds) Racialization, Racism, and Anti-Racism in the Nordic Countries. Approaches to Social Inequality and Difference. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74630-2_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74630-2_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74629-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74630-2

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation