Are Interracial Couples The Final Taboo?

Karyn Folan's book, Don't Bring Home a White Boy, is filled with real-life anecdotes and interviews that address the myriad reasons why many black women have balked at... well... bringing home a white boy. Among them: the stigma left over from the days of slavery; fear of backlash from family members; concern for biracial children; and the sense that they may appear self-hating because they have chosen a partner who is not of their race.

Folan has a received a wide range of responses to her book. Some readers have been critical, such as the man who contacted Folan to say, "My problem is, just because you cannot handle a strong black man, why are you trying to sell your choice so hard to other people?" Many, however, have embraced Folan's advocacy of interracial couples. One reader writes in, "I want to comment that maybe at some point in our lives we just stop looking at color and start looking at people. When we grow beyond that we open up a world to ourselves that transcends race." Interracial Romance: Is Love Colorblind?

Her response is encouraging, and in keeping with a mindset that seems to be growing, at least among millennials. According to the Pew Research Center's recent report on racial attitudes in the U.S., the majority of millennials (according to Pew, those born between 1981–2000), "regardless of race, say they would be fine with a family member's marriage to someone of a different racial or ethnic group."

Of course, this doesn't really come as a surprise to us. As the years have passed, all minorities—whether we talk sexuality, gender or race—have reached new levels of acceptance within society, making any sort of discriminatory behavior seem laughably outdated. Why would we find anything wrong with interracial dating? Is Interracial Dating Racist?

Still, we're curious to see some statistics from Pew on how minorities within interracial relationships are feeling. Do they still feel as wary of interracial dating for the same reasons Folan mentions in her book? Or has this, too, changed over time? Tips On Interracial Dating

How about you? Are you, or have you ever been a part of, an interracial couple? Did you receive any sort if backlash, or even just dirty looks, from others? Did it place any sort of additional pressure on your relationship?

Earlier this month, Karyn Folan's book, Don't Bring Home a White Boy, became available in bookstores. Filled with real-life anecdotes and interviews, Folan's book addresses the myriad of reasons why many black women have balked at... well... bringing home a white boy. Among them: the stigma left over from the days of slavery; fear of backlash from family members; concern for biracial children; and the sense that they may appear self-hating because they have chosen a partner who is not of their race.

Folan has a received a wide range of responses to her book. Some readers have been critical, such as the man who contacted Folan to say, "My problem is, just because you cannot handle a strong black man, why are you trying to sell your choice so hard to other people?" Many, however, have embraced Folan's advocacy of interracial couples. One reader writes in, "I want to comment that maybe at some point in our lives we just stop looking at color and start looking at people. When we grow beyond that we open up a world to ourselves that transcends race." Interracial Romance: Is Love Colorblind?

Her response is encouraging, and in keeping with a mindset that seems to be growing, at least among millennials. According to the Pew Research Center's recent report on racial attitudes in the U.S., the majority of millennials (according to Pew, those born between 1981–2000), "regardless of race, say they would be fine with a family member's marriage to someone of a different racial or ethnic group."

Of course, this doesn't really come as a surprise to us. As the years have passed, all minorities—whether we talk sexuality, gender or race—have reached new levels of acceptance within society, making any sort of discriminatory behavior seem laughably outdated. Why would we find anything wrong with interracial dating? Is Interracial Dating Racist?

Still, we're curious to see some statistics from Pew on how minorities within interracial relationships are feeling. Do they still feel as wary of interracial dating for the same reasons Folan mentions in her book? Or has this, too, changed over time? Tips On Interracial Dating

How about you? Are you, or have you ever been a part of, an interracial couple? Did you receive any sort if backlash, or even just dirty looks, from others? Did it place any sort of additional pressure on your relationship?

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