' Race ' , Religion, Romance: Youth Striving for an Optimal Dating Experience

Abstract

This paper discusses how social actors engage with the notion of race and religion inprivate spheres. It specifically shows how young people use religion to rationalise theirdating preferences, and in so doing are inclined to heighten the existing ethno-racialboundaries. The interview excerpts used as examples in this paper are drawn from anethnographic study that I conducted in Dar es Salaam and Mbeya from 2012-2015. In thispaper I demonstrate that the common knowledge and personal experiences of secondaryschool students €”with regards to norms and values of self and others €”tend to influencetheir choice of dating partners, their everyday experiences of being in an intimaterelationship, and their overall opinion of inter-racial marriages. Also, whereas closedgroups such as the Balouch and South Asian communities advocate for racial endogamyand perpetuate sexual double standards, teenagers from these groups use religion as atool to manipulate given community norms and values.