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Love is Blind and its Representation of Interracial Relationships


One of Netflix's most popular new originals, Love is Blind, conducts an experiment to see if couples can form a real connection so strong that can lead to marriage without ever seeing the person. The first season of the show featured a match between two individuals, Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton. 
Chen, T. (2020, March 3). Breaking News: Original Reporting: News Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tanyachen/lauren-and-cameron-love-is-blind

As Lauren is a black woman and Cameron is a white man, the show follows their journey as an interracial couple. Lauren repeatedly expresses to Cameron her concerns of the kinds of challenges they will have to face upon leaving the experiment and returning to the real world as an interracial couple. In the video above, Cameron recounts an experience he had in a previous interracial relationship when crossing the street a stranger yelled "you should be with a black man". This shows how even today when interracial relationships are celebrated and seen as steps forward for many countries, these couples still are subject to backlash from the public. 

Interracial relationship shaming is nothing new in today's society. Serena Williams herself even admits to and opens up to  struggles faced in her marriage due to the skin color differences in her and her husband.  Williams made a point to say that she regularly explains the racism she faces as a black woman, and how perceptions of her relationship would be different if she were white. In interracial relationships especially it is very easy for one partner to become uncomfortable. A crucial step in maintaining that relationship is communicating racial differences with your partner and understanding each others experiences, feelings and points of view which Williams does well. 

Lauren and Cameron really set an example for interracial dating in the public eye. One thing that really stood out is their willingness to talk about racial and cultural differences that may not always come as an easy conversation. They also have maintained a positive relationship and were 1 out of 2 couples on the entire show that actually got married. These two have truly shown that if done correctly, love can be blind. As interracial relationships become more common, these kinds of positive representations set a tone and example for viewers one how to embrace and talk about each others differences in a relationship rather than dating through a colorblind lens and ignoring them. 

Course Reference: Steinbugler, A. (2014). "Loving across racial divides." In Andersen, M. L., & Collins, P. H. (2019). Race, class, and gender: intersections and inequalities (pp 303-308). Boston, MA: Cengage.

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