Black Moral Inc
Do you consider dating one race exclusively, or refusing to date one or more races, racist or personal preference? Why?
Both, really. It is perfectly possible to be biologically not attracted to every single race, and to be drawn to certain qualities - ie, skin tone, hair colour, eye colour, build and so on. So I'd say that it is preference, and only becomes racism when you make it known that their race is the specific reason why you don't like them. I've never been attracted to people of other races/ethnicities, not yet in my only 21 years of life. It is not something that I can help, as I am quite capable of being close friends with them - I just can't force myself into magically suddenly crushing for one. Not saying that it can't happen, but given how I'm currently in a relationship, it's not likely at all. So while it is racism in a way so far as excluding someone based on skin colour, it is more rooted heavily in personal biologically-driven preference, than in racism for the point of being unpleasant/rude.
Admittedly this is from a blog, but:
Quote:
If you find yourself only attracted to white people, does that make you racist? It’s not really a choice, after all, it’s just who you happen to find sexually appealing. Do we call gays sexist towards women, and lesbians sexist towards men?
Here's another:
source
Quote:
I had a recent conversation with a female associate – a white woman – who admitted to me that the life partner she was in search of must be a white dude.
As a black male, I had that natural, visceral “why he gotta be a WHITE dude??” response. That type of gut reaction, I think, is to be expected when directed from someone of the majority race to someone of a historically oppressed race. This woman must be a bona fide racist, right. She’d put the first Negro she caught in her net on the spit to feed her dogs if there were no consequences, true?
Fortunately for me, I’m able to move past the emotion to reach the nuances, and I’m not willing to condemn her as a racist scalliwag for her connubial preferences without digging a bit deeper.
Physical attraction is very subjective, and I don’t think it’s much of a coincidence that, by and large, we’re attracted to our own kind. Nor do I think it’s a testament to racism. For example, many of you are not attracted to anyone that’s not a black man, for many reasons. Does that necessarily make you a bigot? Methinks not.
Tl'dr: I think it is more inclined to preference, and only becomes racism when a sense of superiority is brought into play. You can't help what you are, or are not, attracted to and yes, that includes someone's race as well although there will always be the occasional exception to the rule.