These are harmful stereotypes that will not only make your black partner uncomfortable, they will further marginalize them.

If you answered no to these questions and you think those assumptions on black womanhood are downright absurd hint: When you compliment a black woman in this way, you are implying that we are exceptions to the rule — the rule being that that black women are not attractive, intelligent, or posses any other positive attributes. And when these stereotypes are internalized and then manifested in society, it could have severe consequences. More often than not we are looked over for jobs, we do not receive adequate education or medical care, and we are imprisoned at much higher rates than our white counterparts all because blackness is rarely associated with positivity.

So in order to combat the harmful stereotypying of our people, try to compliment us without the caveat! Instead, remember that black women, like all people, have varying interests, backgrounds, and obstacles that they face daily. Try to think of a black woman as an individual, and not as the chosen speaker for a whole diverse group. Fetishization of black women occurs in many different forms, but the some of the most common include quantifying black women and expecting them to adhere to stereotypes.

This further marginalizes us by making it seem like we are something exotic, elusive, and mysterious. But black women are fully fleshed, three dimensional human beings with varying thoughts, abilities, values, and passions. Please treat us as such. Appreciate us for our versatility and the little quirks that make each one of us so special. This AmeriCorps alumna is passionate about community service and strives for a better understanding of how to mobilize marginalized populations through service and activism.

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4 Important Rules for White Men Dating Black Women - Everyday Feminism

Help us keep publishing more like it by becoming a member! The musician who serenaded me at the Dresden between Marty and Elayne's sets. And the one or two white guys in the mix had hair. Are you a veteran of L. We want to publish your story. Two weeks later, I climbed in the passenger seat of the bald white guy's truck when he picked me up from my apartment in Miracle Mile. Hmm … he drove a pickup truck. And I knew from talking to him on the phone that he was from the South.

Taye Diggs on Backlash He Got for Dating White Women - ESSENCE Now

I smiled as he told me he'd made a reservation at Ammo. So far, so good. I liked that place.

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As we drove along, I surreptitiously glanced at him — he was wearing a nice suit, having come straight from his office to get me. He had mentioned he was a lawyer, so I'd already mentally checked the box for gainfully employed. But something else was on my mind. No matter how advanced a society we think we are, the idea that we're post-racial is laughable. Over the years working in numerous writers rooms as the only black writer, I'd become a pro at deciphering comments white guys made:. This guy was from Georgia. To be fair, I'm from the South.

Raised in Florida, I know about chewing tobacco, gator farms, 2 Live Crew, y'all, and the Confederate flag.

4 Important Rules for White Men Dating Black Women

For that reason, I started getting nervous about this guy. What if I were part of some Dixieland fantasy of his? After we were seated I asked him how many black girls he'd dated. Whenever we went somewhere with a lot of black people in attendance, I got the side eye from some of them. My dating outside the race was seen as a betrayal. Their thought bubble hovered, clear as day: And some days, it was tough because I felt guilty for not completing the picture of the strong black couple.


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  6. I'm a black woman. He's a white guy with a pickup truck. Here's what happened.

Another time, my boyfriend got a call from his ex-girlfriend. Word had spread through the Caucasian grapevine. I was working on a sitcom at the time.


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  • When I told the writers on the show I was dating a white guy from the South who drove a pickup truck, I could tell they were skeptical. The kicker was when we went to the wedding of one of his friends in Cape Girardeau, Mo. I'm not exaggerating when I say white people stared at us as we walked down the street. If we had them, they would be "multiethnic" or "biracial" or "mixed heritage.

    But I was getting ahead of myself, right?

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    Was I in this or not? Was I ready to be committed to a guy whose family owned shotguns and went to the Waffle House? My parents were both college professors. His parents hadn't gone to college.

    My parents were Baha'is who didn't celebrate Christmas. His dad played Santa Claus in various malls below the Mason-Dixon line during the yuletide season. My boyfriend listened to emo rock, for God's sake! I loved that he shared a house off Sunset with a gay, Pakistani performance artist.