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Love Under the Skin

Interracial Marriages in the American South and France

Cécile Coquet-Mokoko author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:5th May '20

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

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Love Under the Skin cover

The rising visibility of interracial couples calls for increased attention to the overlapping of culture and race, in safe spaces centered on small-group dynamics, or in public spaces where peoples of African descent are under the public gaze. This comparative study seeks to de-center the U.S-centered viewpoint common to much of the literature on black/white relations. Based on nine years of fieldwork in the American South and in France, Coquet shows many unexpected parallels between the two societies. Gendered perceptions of cultural authenticity and sexual ethics are a guiding thread, being inseparable from the historical and political contingencies (re-)defining acceptable forms of dating, marrying, and parenting among cis-heterosexual couples in both societies. Her account emphasizes resilience and agency as couples seek to protect themselves and their children, while their extended or symbolic kinship networks help white partners acknowledge the existence of racial privilege.

'Cécile Coquet-Mokoko’s macro and micro approach of interracial marriages on both sides of the Atlantic proves to be a much needed counter-frame in the face of growing political polarization and rampant anti-Black racism in France and the U.S. As France has moved from the postmodern fantasy of métissage10 at the beginning of the century, to the fear of grand remplacement (literally: “Great replacement”) now widely discussed by the French media and politicians, one can only hope to see Love Under the Skin translated into French and reach as many readers as possible.'

Fanny Robles in Revue electronique d'Etudes sur le monde Anglopohne

ISBN: 9780367370978

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 453g

200 pages