2013 Reports

The Intersection of Bi and Multi-Racial Women and Gender Issues

Kalonian, Robert; Smith, Raymond Arthur

Though bi-racial and multi-racial individuals have always been part of the world’s demographic makeup, including in the United States since the early days of European settlement, the Census Bureau only recently retired the so-called one-drop rule. At the direction of Congress, the Bureau now permits respondents to select more than one racial category. However, despite this progress in the area of government and the law, there continues to exist a social struggle (one of identity and community acceptance) for biracial and multi-racial women. This document surveys some of those challenges.