You don't know me at all. If you find that hard to believe then this will stun you. Forget racial dating preferences. I did not even notice that there were differences in facial features until I was in high school! I don't think you realize how unfamiliar the average person is with racial theories and racial views. I started developing an interest in racism in high school and read some websites discussing race one of which had racist cartoons on it expressing the pathetic views of White Supremacists. One of the cartoons mentioned Blacks having different facial features from Whites including wide noses and big lips. I told my friend about this who was White and he seemed surprised by this as well. It never occurred to him either that different groups had different facial features and he insisted it wasn't true. Of course now that I was aware of this new information I started looking at people's faces and realized there was some truth to it. I know a lot about the subject of race now obviously. But back then? I knew next to nothing. Despite what you might think I'm not obsessed with race to the extent that you think I am. Knowledgeable? Sure. But a lot of ordinary people talk and think about race a whole lot more than I do. I simply combat racism on the internet through debate and I haven't done much of that lately. I will give you an example of how I thought at the time. In 10th grade we had swimming class one day and this White boy came up to me and asked me a random question. He asked "How come Black guys like White girls but White girls don't like Black guys?" I was annoyed by the question and thought he was just being racist. I told him that isn't true. He insisted that it was and then tried to run an experiment. He pointed out a girl who could easily be considered the prettiest girl in the class. He asked me if I thought she was attractive. I said yes, though still annoyed with the question and not knowing where he was going with this and I told him that "they were just girls" and I didn't think about race like that. Then he called the girl and asked her if she thought I was good looking. She said yes. He shut up immediately after she said that never saying another word about the subject as his experiment had clearly failed. Looking back on the incident I realize that this was probably a genuine curiosity on his part. White people in America tend to have a very different perception of racial issues than Black people. The area I lived in at the time was over 95% White. Some White people in that and many other areas of the United States don't have any Black friends. In some areas White people have only seen Black people on TV and never met one until they reached adulthood. This is very different to my experience with White people who I have interacted with all of my life. My experience is of course very different from Black people who live in the inner city mostly around other Blacks and I got a taste of that culture when I lived in Suburban Maryland. So you may not believe me but the fact is that you don't know me. You only know me as a poster on the internet. What I am telling you is the truth and I don't have to lie about things like this. My experiences shaped my mentality as they do for everyone. Your experiences are probably very different from mine and that is why you can't relate to what I am saying and find things like this hard to believe.
You cannot control whom you are attracted to, it is entirely biologic. Just because one happens to have a preference for whites, it does not mean they value whites higher than everyone else. I get the impression you are a narcissistic gutmensch who always tries to depict himslef as the most good person of all. This is a meaningless pathos argument. Guess you think "personality preferences" aee wrong too then?
Physical attraction is not entirely biological. The proof that it isn't is that standards of beauty have changed over time and differ across cultures. The fact that people who have racial preferences also have a racial bias shouldn't surprise anyone. I've never claimed to be any kind of saint. I am just honest about my views and feel I have more enlightened views on race than most people. I didn't say racial preferences were wrong in a moral sense only that people who have strong racial preferences often also have racial biases.
I am not doing this again, i will just refer to a previous thread of mine in which you can educate yourself on the issue; http://www.politicalforum.com/relig...-objective-subjective-cultural-universal.html I have a preference for light-coloured eyes and light-coloured hair, traits that are non-existant in East Asians and Sub-Saharans. If this is the result of Oedipus complex or cultural indoctrination, you are free to speculate in how much you want. However, you are not allowed to label this preference as racist because it simply is not true. I do not create race-based beauty hierarchies. A beautiful woman, is a beautiful woman. No one has ever denied this. You sure come out as such a person. I prefer Caucasian traits, but this does not nean I hate Mongoloids and Negroids.
Based on my knowledge of the subject beauty is subjective to the extent that not everyone likes the same thing but there are general trends in what most people find physically attractive which indicates that many of our preferences are controlled by natural instincts. A person's sexual preference can be altered or distorted by external influences which is how people develop fetishes that are taboo or even bizarre (ex. being sexually attracted to animals or inanimate objects etc.). As for racial preference and racism I am not saying that they go hand in hand and that having a sexual preference that is race-based means you are also racist but that people who often make a big deal about racial preference often also hold other racial biases including having racist opinions. Clearly it is entirely possible to not be racist at all and still have racial preferences however people who do have strong racial preferences often look at race differently than someone who has no racial preferences.
You are right that I don't know you. I only know the online persona you've created here and your interests, based on your posts and what you post about. So that's the person I'm addressing. And to that person let me just say that I don't believe you. "I did not even notice that there were differences in facial features until I was in high school..." Seriously? Even babies can do that, so the fact that you claim you were blind to race in high school I just find implausible. And as to the rest of your high school story, it disproves your claim that, "...it never occurred to me that having racial preferences was even a thing." The truth is, you are very much aware it's a thing and you've been aware of it since high school, assuming that story is correct.
I think it's primarily the pressure from your family and community to stay within the specific caste you were born into, rather than being adventurous enough to get hitched with someone from another caste. You need to be extremely brave to clear the hurdle even if you're not from India and you have racial preferences because your mother told you so. Inavka Trump is married to a Jewish businessman and she had to convert to Judaism because Jewish families do not allow interfaith marriages. It must have been tough for her and her family. [video=youtube;pOlNc4F4jW0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOlNc4F4jW0[/video]
I don't. Many other people do not. I only thought there were differences in skin color and hair texture. I wasn't aware that there were differences in facial features until it was pointed out to me by reading about racism on the internet. That's a true story and I am clearly not alone in that view as even my friend was unaware. You're missing the point of my high school story. When that kid asked me that question I thought that he was just being racist. It never occurred to me that some people had racial preferences. I didn't. I thought that the only people who were opposed to interracial dating were racists. No one in real life up to that point had ever mentioned that they don't like this race or that race (except for my friend on the track team in 7th grade who told an Indian girl all women of her race were ugly. I thought he was just being racist and scolded him for it not thinking this was legitimate opinion many people held of specific races). As for babies they are capable of distinguishing differences in ones face and become uncomfortable around unfamiliar faces. This video is an excellent example. The little girl in the video is playing with her father who has a beard. When he shaves the beard to surprise her she doesn't recognize him and starts crying as she thinks she is being handled by a stranger. The man is still her father, someone she should know, but one of his defining characteristics is gone. [video=youtube;_k0fnTiKEMc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k0fnTiKEMc[/video] These stories coming out about babies being racist are not true. They have no concept of race. They do have a concept of differences in physical appearance. Saying that they are racist is as ridiculous as saying the girl in the video hates clean shaven men. So yes a baby can tell the difference between dark skin and light skin. If you painted your face blue your baby might not recognize you and get scared. The same thing would happen if you put on a fake nose or some other disguise. This is stranger anxiety. If a White baby was only used to seeing Black people and then all of a sudden started interacting with a White person they might find that White person unusual to look at because that is not what they are used to seeing despite being of the same race. So as all of this relates to my story while it may surprise you that I didn't notice racial differences in facial features that is the truth and it's not farfetched at all. Try it yourself. Ask questions of ordinary people in real life about race and you will find that many people are unaware of these issues being discussed on the internet. I've done it myself. Examples: - Many people are totally unaware of racial differences in crime statistics. - Most people I know have never heard of White Nationalism and don't know anything about their political views. - Some people don't think racism even exists any more in a meaningful way. When I started talking about racism on the internet early on I had a conversation with this White girl, who was in college, and mentioned that I was debating racism on the internet. She cautioned that arguing with them was like arguing with a religious fanatic about their religion (I agree with that and it's actually worse). One of the heated debates I was getting in to was the race of the Ancient Egyptians. I asked her was race she thinks they were. Not only did she have no opinion she didn't even know where Egypt was! I told her it was in Africa. She said that they were probably Black then reasoning that it was on the same continent. I have many many examples supporting the point that people in real life simply don't care about these racial issues and aren't aware of many racial arguments. Most take it for granted that races exist and may have strong opinions about race (such as believing in racial equality) but they don't think about racial issues on an intellectual level. I used to be one of those people. Honestly now I see racial debate especially with racists as a complete waste of time. Don't expect me to post about this much any more.
The only way any of this could be remotely plausible was if you were raised in the whitest part of Iceland, and never saw anyone of any other race, either on TV or pictures. So...no, I still don't believe you. So what does that have to do with our conversation? I didn't call you a racist.
You don't have to believe me. I am telling you the truth and I know it is the truth. That is all that matters. I'm an American. I have moved around a lot and lived in several states. Obviously I have access to TV and pictures. The internet wasn't where it is now when I was in high school but there were plenty of websites with lots of information. What I am saying isn't farfetched at all. No one had ever mentioned racial differences in facial features to me. I had never heard it mentioned in real life or the media. Facial features are not as obvious a distinction as skin color or hair texture. Once it was mentioned and I started looking for these differences then I noticed them. My friend who is White also didn't notice facial features and was more reluctant to believe them. We were watching some comedy show where most people in the crowd were Black and he randomly said, "I don't get it. They don't have big lips." Once I started noticing these differences myself I accepted that it was true. OK there are racial differences in facial features. So what? Another thing that I absolutely wasn't aware of was that racists believe that there are racial differences in intelligence. I never heard anyone say anything about this in real life or in the media. It wasn't until I read about it on the internet and talked to racists on message boards that I ever heard of the idea. Obviously this was a bigger deal to me. When I heard the claim of course I immediately considered to be bull(*)(*)(*)(*) but I was disturbed by the length that certain scientists had gone to actually prove it. I don't know what your experiences with race and racism are but these are my experiences. I could go on and on about this. The reality is that the average person does not think about racial issues the way people who are fixated on race do.
Irony! I'm quite sure the average person does not think about racial issues as much as you do. So the gist of all this is that you don't even understand (yeah right) the question posted in the OP. OK thanks for your lack of contribution.
I clearly answered the question in the OP and I answered honestly. I myself do not have a racial preference. I like women of different races and don't care about race. Race has no social importance to me. I am an Egalitarian. I am pro-equality. The only reason I know so much about racial issues is that I spent time researching the topic. I consider myself more enlightened on racial issues than the average person. I believe that if more people thought like me about race the world would be better off.
I thought that my would have already indicated that, but like I said, I've no doubt that you have totally deluded yourself that you are being 100% truthful. So....congratulations?
There are no delusions on my end. I am being perfectly truthful. If you don't believe me that is your problem.
You're being extremely condescending with your suggestions that I can't have a legitimate opinion on this subject. I can accept that you believe what you believe even if I don't agree with it so why can't you accept that what I believe is a legitimate opinion? Why do I have to be delusional in your mind? There is nothing illogical about what I am saying.
I believe you can have an opinion. I'm not challenging that. I've already stated I don't find it plausible, but I'm willing to go along with you thinking that you really believe it. Hey, I would take the win.
You can believe what ever you wanted to believe. I am telling the truth and I contributed to the thread. That's what matters.
Why do you think West, Central, and South Africans are viewed as unattractive but Eritrean females are viewed as more attractive when their skin tones are all dark and hair woolly?
