One of
the British Big Brother contestant on this year’s season stated she would go
for dark skin but not black. She further stated that she wouldn’t generally go
for black guys. When approach by a fellow contestant about her statement, who
happens to be a black woman, she said "that’s my preference, you probably
wouldn’t go for a white guy". When I heard this two things popped up
in my head. One being, was what she said just a matter of preference or
actually racist? Secondly, why did she assume that her black
housemate wouldn't go out with a white guy?
With the first question I think it is important to know
that people do have preferences. To me race is not a qualification to how
attractive someone is to me. If you are hot you are hot. But that said, I know
people who prefer a particular race. I do not think there is anything wrong
with preference; the issue only comes when we determine our preference
based on the media’s portrayal of certain races. If the big brother contestant
genuinely does not find black men attractive without any particular negative
feelings towards black men as a whole then fair enough. Preference is fine as
long as there are no negative racial attitudes towards that particular
group.
With the second element I am particularly interested in
'why' she said the other housemate, the black woman, would not go
out with a white man. Do people generally assume that you would not
go out with a particular race because you belong to a different race? This
makes me wonder do people generally think I could not go out with a white man
because I am black. Can this explain why white men do not approach me?
Yesterday I was in a shop and noticed that a man was looking at me, but didn't
say anything. This is generally the experience I have had with white men.
