Arkansas HistoryDangerous Liaisons: Sex and Love in the Segregated SouthCharles F. Robinson II is the author of Dangerous Liaisons: Sex and Love in the Segregated South. His primary goal in writing this novel was to examine how Southern whites enforced anti-miscegenation laws. Robinson shows that the real crime was to suggest that black and white individuals could be equal. When writing the book, Robinson used a variety of sources. He examined legal cases throughout the South, the decision of the United States Supreme Court, debates in state legislatures, comments in the Congressional Record of the United States, newspaper editorials, anti- miscegenation, private correspondence and some personal writings of African Americans. For the white South, punishing intimacy between blacks and whites had more to do with maintaining caste divisions between the races than with preventing interracial sexual relations… Love or the appearance of sincere affection mattered more than gender because it suggested that both individuals involved in the interracial relationship saw each other as social equals. Whites barely tolerated such open pants because it undermined the legitimacy of an economic, political, and social structure that ensured white supremacy” (Robinson). Public and domestic unions between blacks and whites threatened the political, social and cultural balance. structure of white supremacy and suggested the possibility of racial equality. Before and even after the Civil War, interracial sex and relationships were a known thing. In 1662, Virginia's colonial assembly passed a law addressing the special illicit nature of interracial couples. If convicted, fines would be doubled and penalties would be twice as severe. In 1691, interracial marriages became... middle of paper ......aged in interracial sex to show that whites and blacks are equal and on the same playing field. Many people were not disagree with race relations, which remains true even today in the South. By maintaining a relationship, especially an intimate one, couples were showing that color shouldn't matter. Personally, I think the book was an interesting read. It's crazy to imagine a time when blacks and whites were separated. Reading stories about how people perceived and acted toward interracial couples is saddening because of the harsh punishment they would receive, but it also explains why many southern white men, especially older ones, have such a strong opinion on interracial couples to this day. .Works Cited: Robinson, Charles F. Dangerous Liaisons: Sex and Love in the Segregated South. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas, 2003. Print.