Evolutions of Cultural Contractual Understanding: Exploring Biracial Women's Communicative Experiences

Abstract

Building off of the limited research on multiracial communicative experiences, this research explores how social-cultural norms situated within macrolevel societal structures (e.g., one-drop rule) are negotiated in the everyday lives of 20 college-aged multiracial women. In an effort to obtain an understanding the nature of the participant's lived experience as a multiracial woman, a semistructured interview protocol was used and data analysis was consistent with phenomenological methodology as outlined by McCracken (1988) and the work of Owen (1984). Using cultural contracts theory as our theoretical frame, the results of the thematic analysis provided valuable insight into the lived experiences of women as they negotiate their identities via different cultural contracts over time. The authors conclude with a discussion of research and theoretical implications.