Though interracial dating is no longer considered taboo, most interracial couples still face challenges from the prejudice, stereotypes, back-stabbing, whispers… you name it. That hasn’t stopped people from having interracial relationships though … the numbers are increasing by the day. We have lots of interracial dating sites taking over the online dating scene. And, these sites seem to have lots and lots of members. Statistics also indicate an increase in interracial marriages in the US.
One of the most controversial interracial dating combos in the US is that of black and white and the history of slavery seems to get the blame for this. Interracial relationships between whites and say, Asians, Hispanics or Jews seem to gain easier acceptance – except, of course, for the supremacists and other similar groups – than between blacks and whites.
Gender prejudices seem to rear its ugly head in interracial relationships, adding salt to the wound. For example, when a white woman dates a black man she is automatically labeled a slut by some people. When an economically successful black man marries a white woman as some of the celebrities have done, it often seems to draw hostility especially from some black women. Many feel like they are being robbed of the good black men. And when a black woman marries a white man the prejudices don’t escape them either.
Why is it that when a white woman dates a black man, they immediately say she is after the endowment down stairs and not something like a beautiful heart or great personality? Prejudice … prejudice. Haven’t people had enough of that already?
Some institutions have racial prejudice too. An example is the infamous Bob Jones University that only recently ended its ban on interracial dating services in wake of media uproar stirred by George W. Bush’s visit to the school in the year 2000.
The question of whether to date interracially or be in a same race relationship has no easy answer. It is a complex one and seeps into the moral, ethnical, religious, psychological, philosophical, and other aspects of humanity; something that cant be covered in this article. But simply put, some do it for experimentation, some may date interracially but not marry someone of a different race, and then there are those who wouldn’t at all consider anything interracial.
If you want to just experiment, go for it but let the other person know that it is just that to avoid hurting them. And for those facing prejudice, ignoring the haters is the way to go. But let your reasons for dating or not dating interracially be what you believe in and what makes you happy.
