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A friend of mine, who, if it's relevant, is of Indian heritage, says that there are whole racial groups that she is not physically attracted to. She says the Japanese and the Chinese (and I suspect she wanted to say Black too, but remembered who she was speaking to).

Is this racist?

#poll #blackmastodon #race #racism

  • Yes (58%, 34 votes)
  • No, but... (22%, 13 votes)
  • No (19%, 11 votes)
58 voters. Poll end: 1 giorno fa

#race #racism #poll #blackmastodon
in reply to David Njoku

Deborah Makarios
Deborah Makarios
• •
It might depend on whether her treatment of people varies depending on whether she finds them attractive or not.
If it's purely a matter of attraction, I wouldn't call it racist, any more than I'd call someone sexist for not being bisexual.
in reply to David Njoku

Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
• •
It's completely normal for people to say they're not attracted to people with certain physical characteristics, based on minor differences within a race. So why would it be abnormal for people to say they're not attracted to people who have more physical characteristics that are different? No one says anyone is racist for not wanting to date brunettes. It'd be ridiculous. Saying a whole race is "unattractive" is racist. Saying "I'm not attracted to (whatever)" is a statement of fact.
in reply to Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)

Carrie Shanafelt
Carrie Shanafelt
• •
@tokyo_0 But I can't help but think of all the times someone has defended a racial dating preference by invoking a racist stereotype like, "I'm not into [group] because I like big muscles" when of course some people in that group do have big muscles. Or instead of big muscles, it's intelligence, a sense of humor, a good paycheck, etc. My impulse when I hear someone say that a billion people aren't sexually attractive is that racism is an inextricable part of it.
@Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
in reply to Carrie Shanafelt

Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
• •
@carrideen Invoking a racist stereotype is racist, absolutely. Saying a whole race is unattractive is racist. That's not what the poll described. One woman said she didn't feel physically attracted to people of a certain race. That's not a statement about their attractiveness, it's a statement about her preferences.
@Carrie Shanafelt
in reply to Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)

Carrie Shanafelt
Carrie Shanafelt
• •
@tokyo_0 In your other post, you used a different example, which is someone feeling entitled to the sexual attraction of someone else, and then assuming racism if they are not attracted to them. That for sure is a huge leap--I agree. But saying there is no East Asian person in the world who could possibly attract their sexual attention--yeah, I'm guessing there's some racist assumptions there!
@Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
Questa voce è stata modificata (4 giorni fa)
in reply to Carrie Shanafelt

Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
• •
@carrideen I think when this happens most of the time people haven't experienced attraction to anyone of that race in their lives, and so they believe they are not attracted to anyone of that race. But equally, people say things like that about gender: "She might think she's a lesbian, but maybe she just hasn't met the right man yet." And when people say things like that, they are pretty universally recognised as flawed. It tends to suggest some unhealthy ideas are at play.
@davidnjoku
@Carrie Shanafelt @David Njoku
in reply to Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)

Carrie Shanafelt
Carrie Shanafelt
• •
@tokyo_0 I guess I keep coming back to the issue that sexual preference in gender is a political (public) orientation because being queer is a category of people legally persecuted for their difference. There is no law against being racist in sexual preference--quite the opposite--so if one does hold these opinions, due to ignorance or active prejudice, it is not a marginalized position, any more than "preferring" not to date disabled people, though that is also common.
@Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
in reply to Carrie Shanafelt

Carrie Shanafelt
Carrie Shanafelt
• •
@tokyo_0 I understand your objection to someone's claim that everyone must be actively attracted to every other person on earth or be accused of prejudice, but I don't think anyone thinks that. The issue is, when someone rules out a billion people at a time due to a stereotype they have about their bodies or capacities, that is very different from saying "I want to be with someone I share a religion/culture/hobbies with."
@Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
in reply to Carrie Shanafelt

David Njoku
David Njoku
• •

@carrideen @tokyo_0 I also think that preference is a slightly different thing. Saying that I have a preference for, say, brunettes means that if I was to close my eyes and imagine my perfect woman she'd be a brunette.

The racial thing is usually not stated as a preference, but as a line that cannot be crossed.

@Carrie Shanafelt @Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
in reply to David Njoku

Carrie Shanafelt
Carrie Shanafelt
• •
@tokyo_0 I think a lot about what gay men have said about the cumulative effect of seeing Grindr profiles that proudly declare "no fats no femmes no spice no rice" as blanket prohibitions on contacting them. If you see it once, you think "that guy is an evil prick and I would never want to contact him--useful info!" But when you see it a thousand times, it starts to feel like you are the problem, that you can't be attractive. You can say yes or no to anyone without shaming everyone.
@Tokyo Outsider (337ppm)
in reply to David Njoku

Elena ``of Valhalla''
Elena ``of Valhalla''
•

@David Njoku I'd say no, but

one can't choose their sexual preferences, and if that's what they are it's fine

but it definitely comes from living in a racist society where those are valid categories

@David Njoku

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