Despite progress, certain "annoying" tropes persist in literature and film that can undermine these stories:
: Studies have shown that interracial relationships on television are often portrayed as less physically or emotionally intimate than same-race pairings, potentially due to lingering societal stigmas. Black and White and Sex
: Contemporary media—from teen shows like Grown-ish to films like Everything, Everything —now frequently features interracial pairings where the romance is treated as normal and incidental. Common Pitfalls and Tropes Black and White and Sex
: Landmark films like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) finally tackled the topic but did so as a "problem" romance, centering the narrative on the white family's acceptance rather than the couple’s interior lives. Black and White and Sex
Beyond the "Guess Who" Tropes: The Evolution of Black-White Romantic Storylines