tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5547768194093142070.post1008621022698200238..comments2010-01-26T01:34:04.975-08:00Comments on Gazing into Black Thirteen: Interracial RelationshipsBlack Thirteenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13664034966378614620noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5547768194093142070.post-91114812317448436072008-06-11T07:01:00.000-07:002008-06-11T07:01:00.000-07:00The only one of those I knew about, was William Co...The only one of those I knew about, was William Cohen and Janet Langhart.<BR/><BR/>Oh? Why would you have thought that would bring more derision?<BR/><BR/>It's always interesting to me to hear people's points of view on this.Black Thirteenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13664034966378614620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5547768194093142070.post-46043932602749154442008-06-08T20:03:00.000-07:002008-06-08T20:03:00.000-07:00Here are a few: Robert Deniro & Grace HightowerDa...Here are a few: <BR/><BR/>Robert Deniro & Grace Hightower<BR/><BR/>David Frost and Diane Carroll <BR/><BR/>David Bowie and Iman (super model)<BR/><BR/>William Cohen, Clinton's Secretary of Defense, is married to Janet Langhart <BR/><BR/><BR/>Its interesting hearing your personal perspective. I would have thought black men coupled with white women would bring more derision, especially in the south. But as you say, its more commonplace.shrink on the couchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13271891110211081990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5547768194093142070.post-15895180313024231622008-06-08T19:20:00.000-07:002008-06-08T19:20:00.000-07:00First, thanks for the comment. It's nice to know ...First, thanks for the comment. It's nice to know someone read it, and thought about it. <BR/><BR/>What I meant by the particular -ism, is perhaps, which has the strongest influence.<BR/><BR/>What I see, (here, at least) is an interesting combination of racism and sexism.<BR/><BR/>Basically, women are the "lost cause" of the equation, and therefore, that's why they don't mind them. Then, it's a "men should know better, they're smarter than that" sort of thing. Then, to round it out, a lot of black women here seem to believe that even if they really like a white male, that it would be wrong, or would disappoint their parents if they dated him.<BR/><BR/>Though, as far as what I faced, you don't need to speak in present tense. It was a fair amount of time ago. It was just the catalyst that really got me thinking about it.<BR/><BR/>I think, though, you're right, that statistically, black female/asian male is the rarest interracial coupling.<BR/><BR/>I did not know that about David Bowie, actually.Black Thirteenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13664034966378614620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5547768194093142070.post-12955986477174043212008-06-08T14:52:00.000-07:002008-06-08T14:52:00.000-07:00It's true, black female and white male couples are...It's true, black female and white male couples are rare.<BR/>I don't think it pertains to one reason or another (i.e. racism vs. sexism vs. social structure vs. classism etc.), but rather, an amalgamation of all those things. People seem to have this misconception that issues can be boiled down to a single element of -ism, but I believe that that's untrue. Society, as a whole, is a systemic process; so it's impossible to separate all these things.<BR/><BR/>With that said, I can only make the guess as to why you face discrimination for being in an interracial relationship: that it is due to the history of the south. Because of slavery, a black female/white male union may be deemed as something of a possessive relationship; in other words, the black woman is being taken advantage of. I'm not in any way suggesting that you are, mind you. Just that that is what I think is suggested in a lot of people's minds. Even if they don't directly think that, it might be difficult to get the historical implication out of their minds.<BR/><BR/>But then again, I've never been in the south, so I could just be talking out of my ass.<BR/><BR/>As far as my current residence, though, such coupling is not looked down on. I live in an interesting bubble called the Bay (a.k.a. San Francisco Bay Area). People don't really seem to mind, and I've noticed a few that seemed mostly undisturbed by public presence. In fact, one of my friends (white male) was in a committed long-term relationship with an acquaintance of mine (black female).<BR/><BR/>On a tangent, I think the rarest coupling I've seen so far has been black female/Asian male. I've seen only one in my entire life.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and just for interesting reference:<BR/><BR/>David Bowie's wife is Somali-American.<BR/><BR/>As for a TV series, <I>Firefly</I>, which was cut very prematurely due to Fox's complete idiocy, had a black female/white male couple.<BR/>(It's also a really good show in general.)<BR/><BR/>Octavia Butler's most famous novel, <I>Kindred</I>, features a black female/white male couple.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com