Sounds rather mystical doesn’t it? ‘The Race of the Future’? What is this about? No, don’t worry, it’s not another Space Race but what the future holds for the advancement of mankind.

In recent times, interracial marriages are becoming more and more prevalent in society with interracial marriages accounting to 15% of all new marriages. As a result of this ongoing inbreeding within different races, scientists all over the world have proposed a theory; ‘The Race of the Future.’ This theory suggests that the entirety of humanity would at some point become one homogenous multiracial group. So, no more white, black or Asian but Afro-arab-iranian-eurasian. Could this really be a good thing?

First and foremost, interracial children could help bring communities together. Foreign communities can communicate with each other strengthening the relationships of people all over the world. Additionally, it is no surprise that mixed people are very good looking. A growing number of people will have faces that perfectly blend all the different distinct facial features of each race.  A race of handsome men and beautiful women doesn’t sound bad at all.

However, some people argue that humanity becoming one homogenous race would mean that culture and tradition would be lost. With more interracial couples, the less culture and tradition they pass onto their children. The authenticity of each individual race would be lost as there would be no one ‘purely’ white, black etc.

Moreover, does a multi-racial world mean no more discrimination? Surely, if everyone looked the same, what is there to discriminate about? Well if only it was that easy. As human beings, it is guaranteed that we will always find something to discriminate about, be it religion or class. We still have a long way to go as a species but it’s nice to dream sometimes.

In terms of the biology, when populations blend, medium skin tones will become more common. Melanin production which determines skin tone is regulated by numerous genes, so when people with different skin tones have children, these children inherit a combination of gene versions from each parent, resulting in skin tones that are likely to be intermediate between that of their parents. This means that most of the population would have a skin tone like that of brown people today.

Mixing genes is immensely beneficial; when mixing doesn’t occur, there can be negative consequences. A 2013 study from the University of California, compared veterinary records of purebred and mixed-breed dogs identifying 10 different genetic disorders that purebred dogs are more likely to suffer than mixed-breeds. As the world’s population becomes increasingly mixed, some genetic disorders will become less common proving to be one of the greatest advantages of this possible theory.

Ultimately, the next time you ask people where they are from, their response might be a little more complicated. Regardless of any theories that we may propose, the future is uncertain, and we do not know what will happen. Only time will tell!

 

Harishni Manoharan