Reasons for Surge in Interraciall Relationships

Every where I look these days, even in places that historically have been conservative strongholds, there seem to be a proliferation in interracial relationships.

Have people here made a similar observation?

What are some of the reasons why there has been a upsurge in interracial relationships?

Is it because we have become for tolerant as a society? Nation? World?

Is it because there are more opportunities for people to interact with people of different races?

What role, if any, does the widespread availability of interracial pornography had on such relationship?

Does interracial pornography tend to heighten people's curiosity about, and possibly lead to, a deisre to have intimate relationships with people of other races?

What do people think?

 

I don't think porn plays a major role in the relationships. If it does, it's on a subconcious level and I don't think it's that powerful. The taboo of it all sparked many peoples' interest while others simply just happened to be IR. Surge? I wouldn't say surge. Maybe a slow progression. BM & WW relationships are definitely more prevalent in TV and movies than BW & WM. Also, IR is more popular in certain areas (California) while on the other hand, it virtually doesn't exist in others(Montana). Otherwise, IR relationships is old news.

 

Actually, i do believe pornography has heightened the interest (and curiousity) in interracial relationships, and here's why.

In the midst of the civil rights movement, one important (but not often celebrated) hallmark is Richard v Loving. Before that statue, interracial marriages were outlawed in a number of American states and that ban was on the backbone of white male fear and downright hatred of black male sexuality.

However, after Loving and the battles of the Civil Rights Movements were won, one thing that didn't change was people's attitudes towards mixed race relationships. Whilst it had been legally recognized, in some communities, it still was a socially punishable offense to indulge in it. It was, for the most part, viewed as a mental illness or just a white woman experimenting.

One thing that changed all of this was the rise of the pornography industry. Now i understand that as pornography generated, interracial pornography as a genre didn't. But here's the catch. Pornography as a whole allows for the participating parties to explore and live out any ideas and fantasies they want. And surely, in the 1970s and 80s, interracial relationships were not as publicly acceptable as they are now. So the world of porn gave a previously untouched but mythified understanding of black male sexuality and intimacy with regards to white women. Pornography, in a strange sense, is a completely different, assiduously mythical, perhaps illusional world in which human sexual behavior is fragmented and oddly acted out and so the world of pornography somehow offered the "no go zone".

Over the years, pornography has grown from a mere dollar maker to the (proud) generator of $10 billion. It is now mainstream. Now some may object to my usage of the word "mainstream" but i really do not understand how something that makes $10 billion (and is viewed by millions of Americans) isn't mainstream. As you might well be accustomed with, the fact that interracial pornography (despite my disdain for its classification as a subgenre) is seeing a surge is no coincidence. The less we are willing to discuss the taboo of interracial sexual intimacy, the more fetishisized the idea is, thus the surge in interracial porn. I mean, you have certain women like Spring Thomas who's "career" is based on exploring the myth. Likewise, someone like Sara Jay has built her fortunes on performing alongside black men. So you get the drill.

Overall, i do not think interracial pornography is the sole and overriding reason why people might decide to date people of other colors but it is surely it heightens the curiosity.

 

I was going to read your long ass post LC, but I got impatient to get back to the site Malik offered up. Sorry... :wink:

 

Absolutely no problems. You can come back and read some other time.

 

I did read you whole article (very insightful by the way) and mostly agree. In the 80s there where only a handful of black male porn stars (Sean Michaels, Ray Victory to name a few) who where into interracial and they dispite their success there where still few white females in the porn business who would work with them. Now, in the turn of the century interracial porn is very popular with countless black men doing the career. Unfortuntely, it not a classy and less story driven in the 80s but who watches porn for the plot.

White women are more open and all women as a whole are comfortable with the idea of dating and marrying a man from another race. Mind you there are still patches of the country that frown on interracial relationships but it's best to avoid those areas.

 

I think one reason for the increase in BM/WW relationships is the near perfect physical match. Women are looking for men that make them feel extremely vulnerable and even overwhelmed. Men are seeking women that are extremely feminine, which, in turn, makes him feel even more manly.

Black men (and this is a gross generalization on my part...sorry) are about as manly as you can get. Asian women seem to be the most vulnerable of all women. But, White women can be just as vulnerable and very feminine.

This, in my mind, plays a huge role in why the attraction is so strong (and why many Black men and White women live in complete denial about this strong, mutual attraction...if they have not already been involved with the other).

It's one thing to conquer a woman. But when you know that you can handle a White man (physically), you realize just how vulnerable a White woman is. For me, anyway, it adds to the attraction.

I think it works the other way around, too. If a woman feels that he's so strong to the point of having less of a choice in the matter, if she feels physically overwhelmed by him, then she feels conquered or even hunted.

It's not really about race (there is only one). But, there are physical differences (like this near perfect match I described) between ethnic groups that draw the two together.

 

I don't know about the porn b/c I don't watch too much of it. I think the attraction to someone of the another race has always been there for a lot of people. I think they are just too afraid to embrace it. As time goes on and there are more and more mixed couples, more people are feeling it's "ok" to cross that line. More people are accepting it now. Plus a lot of the mixed couples where I'm from are younger and more accepting of it also.

 

I agree. In a multicultural society in which different ethnic groups are interacting with one another, there is going to be a greater number of IR relationships. People in younger generations who are attracted to people of different races are not encumbered by the negagtive perceptions and myths that influenced older generations. And that is a great thing!