'black man & white woman' vs 'black woman and white man'

dushkufan · Full member **Joined:** 20 Jul 2006 **Posts:** 274

I was reading the bi-racial babies thread where everyone was talking about their own 'mixed' heritage and a little buzzer reminded me of something I had read that had interested me

To the point, if you can't be bothered reading the below, it was a statement about how "black man white woman" relationships are more frequent that "black woman white man" and that this dates back to our Western Patriarchy

"black man/white woman matches occur more frequently and are more sanctioned than their opposite-in early modern drama, in nineteenth-century American fiction, and in twentieth-century American film: for example Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and Jungle Fever. hooks attributes this assymetty to negative stereotypes of black women, and to the fact that black men and white women are next to each other on the race-and-gender status heirarchy which places white men at the top and black women at the bottom "

The article goes on about the loss of African womens sexuality, and I was wondering if you folks considered it a valid argument.

ps. taken from'Circumscriptions and Unhousedness: Othello in the Bordelands' by C. Neely

JessicaWessica · Name Expert **Joined:** 05 Dec 2005 **Posts:** 5497

First, I don't see why this should be any more of an issue than biracial children. But having said that, I've had more friends (who are white/European descent) as well as a cousin married to black men than vice verse. Do I think anything of it? No, it's just who they happened to meet, get to know and fall in love with.

4chixmama · Senior member **Joined:** 20 Dec 2005 **Posts:** 1555

I agree with Jessie, I don't see the issue. It is true that I know more white woman/black man relationships than the opposite, but who knows why that is. My brother, who is white, is married to a black woman. So neither seems odd to me at all.

Pichols · Senior member **Joined:** 23 Feb 2006 **Posts:** 4992

Personally, I've not noticed a big difference in how an interracial couple is made. I know both AA women with caucasion men and caucasion women with AA men. I don't personally know very many interracial couples (mainly because the area I am in is like 99% white) but I can think right now, off the top of my head, of six couples, and they're even...

Guest · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:02 pm Post subject:

I am physically not attracted to black women and neither are any of my friends. We don't find the black female body, particularily in its nude form, sexy. Thus, none of us have ever pursued black women. On the other side of the coin, white women seem to be attracted to black men a fair bit. Perhaps it's the tough-guy image, perhaps it's the stereotype of the larger penis, etc. Men and women differ in how they perceive a person to be sexy. Black women, with no offence intended against them, don't have the qualities that a typical white man finds sexy.

Guest · Guest

4chixmama · Senior member **Joined:** 20 Dec 2005 **Posts:** 1555

What does a typical black woman look like? Big butt & breasts, no doubt to your way of thinking. I'm white, large-chested, & have always had a bubble butt, even before I had kids & when I was still thin. That's what my husband likes. I know black women that are tall & very thin, some that are short & thick, & everything in between. I know white women built the same way. Physical attraction is one thing, but bi-racial relationships are built on more than that, just like any other relationships. Your stereotypes are very offensive. And do you mean to tell me that if the opportunity presented itself, you & your typical white friends would turn down Halle Berry, just as an example? And yes, I know she is bi-racial.

Celery · Senior member **Joined:** 26 Aug 2005 **Posts:** 2253

I think that the point of the OP's discussion was to focus on why one percentage (black man/ white woman) is higher than the other (white man/ black woman) statistically... not whether you think anything of it or approve or disapprove of it and so forth. In the biracial children thread and in this thread I have found it frustrating when people are really quick to brush it off as a total non-issue. I honestly think that everyone's just a little racist, or should I say, conscious of physical differences in people, maybe not racist- as that implies a negitivite association. But dismissing it totally or saying you dont even notice it doesn't automatically make you supremely racially evolved or anything.

I always notice a black woman with a white man. I usually notice a black man with a white woman, but honestly don't put as much time into my staring/ curiosity/ analysis, possibily because it is more common. I'm not sure what I think about the race/ gender hierachy theory- even though I get what it's saying- I personally tend to think it has more to do with the cultural and societial trends of the moment and the fact that women, as a whole, are more open minded than men (I'm probably hitting a hot button there). This is most definately not just a black/ white issue- I would say the same holds true to an even larger degree concerning white/asian couples.

Celery · Senior member **Joined:** 26 Aug 2005 **Posts:** 2253

Mumsy · Senior member **Joined:** 03 Jun 2005 **Posts:** 3967