The Complexity of Interracial Relationships
Just how complex depends on the trifecta of race, culture, and ethnicity
Almost six years ago, on an unseasonably warm day in March, I first met my partner.
She was an editor for our college literary magazine, and we’d decided to meet up at a coffee shop to work on a piece I submitted. Walking into The Bean near Union Square, I had no idea who I was looking for beyond an email and a name. Sarah sat at a corner table; the sun poured through the glass facade behind her. She waved me over, and we spent the next two hours discussing all manner of things. Chekhov’s gun, Marxism, the allure of ’90s New York.
Our first official date would be much the same.
Walking beneath the marble arch of Washington Square — the buildings rising around us like some great urban sierra — our similarities seemed infinite. We were both writers, both New York City kids, and shared a similar lack of religion and love of the arts. These traits solidified our bond despite the lack of shared ethnicity. Sarah is Korean American, and I am Puerto Rican. But on that day, we were just two youngins vibing in the park.
Our friends love our story. I guess they think it embodies a romantic ideal that many so desperately want to believe — that love is the great…
