爱到最高点，心中无国界

Although people of different ethnicities have been mixing for centuries, the subject of interracial relationships is still controversial. Even now, mixed couples face many obstacles, including laws restricting interracial marriage.

It was only in 1967 that the United States finally struck down its anti miscegenation laws. Opposition to interracial relationships exists for different reasons, but what it usually boils down to is racism.

As the world is becoming smaller, the number of interracial couples is growing, especially in countries with large numbers of immigrants. For interracial couples, love knows no color. Cultural differences are just another area of the relationship to work through.

But as interracial dating becomes more common, it does not treat all ethnic groups equally. In the United States, the vast majority of white/black couples involve a black man and a white woman. Conversely, the same number of Asian/white couples consists of an Asian woman with a white man. The proposed reason for this is that traditionally, women prefer men who are stronger and seem more masculine than they are. For men, the opposite is true.

Consequently, this leaves some groups out in the cold. But in the future, a greater mixing of ethnicities and erosion4 of gender stereotypes may balance out these dating patterns as people gain a more genuine appreciation of one another's differences.

1. strike (sth.) down phr.v. 击倒

2. conversely adv. 相反地

3. erosion n. 腐蚀

尽管不同种族的人们已经通婚好几个世纪了，然而不同种族之间的关系仍然是一个引起争议的话题。即使是现在，异族男女之间的婚姻仍然面临着重重阻碍，包括限制异族通婚的法律。

直到1967年，美国才废除了反种族通婚的法律。反对异族联姻有不同的理由，但通常可以归结为种族歧视的原因。

世界变得愈小，异族婚姻的数量随之增多，尤其是移民众多的国家。对于异族婚配的伴侣而言，爱是没有肤色之分的。文化差异不过是这种关系所要解决的另一方面的问题。

然而，尽管不同种族男女之间的约会变得越来越普遍，不同种族群之间的约会机会却并不均等。在美国，绝大多数的黑／白不同肤色的配偶都是黑人男子和白人女子。相反地，同样数量的亚裔∕白人夫妇则是由亚裔女子和白人男子组成。出现这种现象的原因是因为传统上女人偏爱比自己强壮且外表比较阳刚的男人。而男人的喜好则相反。

这样一来，某些种族群便遭到了冷落。但在将来，随着人们更能真正欣赏彼此间的差异，更大规模的种族通婚和对社会性别的固定成见的消除或许能使以上的约会模式变得平衡。