I started out by seeing a Facebook “trend”, regarding Red Kryptonite and the show Supergirl. It was a preview for an upcoming episode (NO SPOILERS!); at the bottom of the page was an article entitled “9 Things You Should Never Say To Interracial Couples”:
From the website “Bustle”, written by Gino M. Florio, it deals with 9 questions and statements the she, and other couple, have had asked to them and/or said to them. In my 37+ years, I have had few chances at dating (the fun of being painfully shy, among other reasons). The few women that I did date and/or have intimate relations with are all wonderful people who still remain friends to this day. They were also all White; I am Black. Thankfully, I haven’t had many of the 9 things listed in that article happen to me. However, #1 on the list -“You’re Going To Make The Most Beautiful Mixed Babies!” – and #6 – “You Don’t Like Dating People Of Your Own Race?” – have happened. While #1 can be considered a compliment at times (especially to the woman I was with when this came up; the babies weren’t getting many of my looks, I hope lol), it is still sometimes a little annoying to get that thrown at you. Babies might not be a viable option; babies might also not be something that was on the table (in my cases, they weren’t). #6 is sitting much higher on the Annoyance, and Insulting, Charts. A lot of assumptions are being made when you ask an interracial couple #6, including:
- They hadn’t date “inside of their own race” before
- They could actually find someone of their own race to date; if you are of mixed races, this could be incredibly difficult
- They have interest in dating someone of their race or someone is interested in dating them
I am most certainly not better than those who want to stick with their race or a particular race. Nothing wrong with doing that at all. I, however, can not, and will not, use race as a judge or criterion for who I date, get intimate with, enter into a serious relationship with, just plain talk to, or anything in between. We all should enjoy whomever we are/were with or want to be with, regardless of race!
I thank you, random Facebook Trend, for taking me from an article about a comic book heroine and her potential weakness, to an interesting article about race, one that isn’t about politics.
The Nexus 