A beautiful blended from the South East of England!
(Clockwise, l to r): Thomas, Faith, Zoe (in Faith’s arms), Miles, and Jaden.

I’m glad you asked!

The world is coming to increased diversity – and increasing numbers of interracial marriages! Reports from the United States Census Bureau (2012) documented increases in the occurrence of interracial marriage, or Swirling as we like to call it. Projections indicate these numbers will continue to rise at a steady pace in coming years.

My interest in topics relating to diversity stems originally from my experiences as an “Army brat” (my father was 23-year career military). I’ve lived all over the world and the United States and experienced exposure to different cultures and ethnicities as a result. Some schools I attended – particularly those on base – were extremely diverse. In other schools I attended my two brothers and me held the then-dubious distinction of being the first and the only Blacks who were enrolled. Even with this background I didn’t start taking interracial dating seriously until 2009, which was the year I entered into an interracial relationship.

I started The Swirl World Facebook page as an off shoot of a PhD residency assignment. The page has grown, and so has my purpose for creating it. It began as an assignment; my goal is now to raise awareness of current and historical events relating to diversity. On the page we explore interracial relationships and marriage, and also lift up biracial and multiracial interests. One of the ways The Swirl World shows our love for this demographic is by striving to be inclusive and welcoming of the biracial and multiracial offspring of these relationships and marriages – we post lots of baby and children’s pictures!

The Swirl World also aggressively pursues the advancement of the appreciation of ethnic and racial culture represented in individuals and nations from around the world. People of color, regardless of their nation of origin, are wonderful, brilliant, artistic, and accomplished, and they need and deserve to be featured in the spotlight. I firmly believe that, like it or not, we all live in The Swirl World because the world reflects a global society marked by diversity.

Resources we draw from for The Swirl World includes news stories, past and current events, pop culture, editorials, blogs, YouTube videos – just about anything reflecting these subjects. Diversity encompasses and influences every human being in one way or another, so in The Swirl World, no subject is taboo if it raises awareness and if it’s in good taste. We don’t do bawdy, tawdry, or disparaging pieces because we want to keep the page on a tasteful, classy level.

I strive to promote the empowerment of Black women, and desire that they expand their dating options by Swirling. I don’t bash or demonize Black men for doing so; interracial dating/marriage is their choice (and statistics show that Black men have been Swirling longer and in far greater numbers than Black women). Across ethnicities, Black women statistically reflect the lowest numbers of interracial marriage – they seem to be the last to “get the memo” to expand their dating and marriage options. The Swirl World seeks to raise a positive awareness of interracial love that will hopefully encourage Black women to make this important lifestyle change. 

Source: United States Census Bureau. (2012). Table 59. Households, families, subfamilies, and married couples: 1980 to 2010. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0059.pdf

This month I’m participating in NaBloPoMo, which means I’ll be posting everyday in the month of November. Thanks for joining me – and please do keep reading and commenting!

Copyright © 2012 Michelle Matthews Calloway, ASwirlGirl™, All rights reserved.

Join in the Fray: Census data now reveals that births of brown babies surpass that of whites. How does that make you feel?