I had a conversation with a man recently who was talking about this and how differently his mother treated him and his sisters. (Much like some of you have talked about on here). He said he realized that when he first started dating non-black women he mistakenly got with women who were controlling. In the beginning he didn't see it as controlling. Because the women were so involved and "proactive" in doing things he saw it as them being more interested and such.....because his mother was not. However, he came to realize that it was the other side of the coin. Controlling and manipulative is controlling and manipulative sometimes it just shows up differently.
The whole Black American Matriarchy vs White(or other) Patriarchy thing is an ongoing struggle for me to understand. I think I am so ingrained in the patriarchal mindset and believe me there are major issues with that as well. But it can be a really difficult thing when it comes to an IR. Everything within me is about being and will do anything to not engage in a power struggle with a man if I'm involved with him.