The Study of Racialism

mixedmom · Moderator Joined: 27 Nov 2004 {Posts: 776 }

This article was reposted over on Mulatto.org and I thought that it would be interested to get some feed back on it over here.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AvnfqD8Uawu52srnPPDjDl2.7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20080819081827AAEON3z

Shocked by British men's choice..what is WRONG WITH MEN IN EUROPE?

I'm a college student here in the U.S and this summer I did the "studying abroad" like most universities have. There were about 45 students this summer from the business school in my University.

I'm 23 years and I consider myself a good looking girl because I take care of myself. I do not look down on others or races. I'm obvious white, 115 pounds, 5"5" tall, 36 bust. In college i have a lot of guys going after me and my friends.

STUDY ABROAD SUMMER:

This summer the study abroad was in london. We were so excited about being in london and meeting good looking british guys. To our surprise, we found that european men preferred to go after black women. This was shocking and such an eye opener to me and my white girl friends.

We went to pubs, clubs, restaurants. lounges and some other fancy places. It was the same. They bought drinks for them. Thats not to say that white men did not hit on white girls just that seemed to be on equal grounds. Which is good but surprising because this does not usually happen in america.

OUR GROUP:

our group of girls had 3 white girls and 2 African American girls. I'm not racist. Even in school this is our usual circle of friends. We travelled together in Europe and every where else.

WHAT HAPPENED:

Every time we went out, the british white guys would mostly be after the African American girls. My African American girls are also pretty. It's just that it shocked us the white American girls. We thought, we would be the first pick. I guess we are used to the white American guys not appraoching black girls, I thought it would be the same there.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

I found that in europe a white girl is not the most wanted girl. I learned tthat white and black girls have equal chances when it comes to men there. We found that there are many white men and black women couples in the U.K as there are black men and white women couples. Unlike in the U.S where there much more blcak men and white women couples compared to white men and black women couples

By the time we went out for the 4th times, we the white girls knew it was fair game for the men for both black and white girls.

I WAS HURT NOT because I'm white but because there were some guy there that i would have liked to have spent some time with but instead they chose to get to know an African America girl. I would have felt the same way had they chosen an other white girl over me

CONCLUSION:

Not all but from what we experienced we learned that european men view women of all races in the same way or view black women in better light than white american men. This happened when we went to France, Ireland, Scotland, Switerland, Italy and Germany.

Bare in mind that there are a lot black british people in the U.K. I have lived with black people for as long as we have.

I had a good time though. I learned a lot about other people and culture.

MY QUESTION:

Why is it different here. In america, i'm a 100% certain that if I were to walk in a place with only white men and I walked in with some African American girls that a white man would appraoch a black woman at least not in public or in front of a white girl.

What makes a white american man different from a white european man?

WE LEARNED THAT RACE DOES NOT SHAPE BEHAVIOR BUT CULTURE DOES.

fwsweet · Posted: Sun 30 Nov 2008 03:14 Post subject:

"Bare in mind"?? Yuck.

Seriously: Judging by exogamy rates, which are over an order of magnitude greater than in the U.S., and by the fact that there is no sexual asymmetry in exogamy (as there is in the U.S.), the same phenomenon exists in Europe, Mexico, Central America, South America, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, the middle East, Australia, and throughout Asia. With this in mind, shouldn't the thread's title be, "what is WRONG WITH MEN IN EUROPE, MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA, NORTH AFRICA, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, THE MIDDLE EAST, AUSTRALIA, AND THROUGHOUT ASIA?" It seems that there is something wrong with the men almost everywhere on the planet.

Sadie · Regular User Joined: 19 Oct 2008 {Posts: 72 }

My experience of Europeans is entirely based on certain forums on the Internet. From the views they express, it would seem that they are somewhat prejudiced towards people who are not white. I thought they would be more liberal. But I guess a handful of Europeans is not representative of everyone.

fwsweet · Posted: Sun 30 Nov 2008 15:23 Post subject:

Sadie · Regular User Joined: 19 Oct 2008 {Posts: 72 }

G-Man · Moderator Joined: 27 Nov 2004 {Posts: 2652 }

OTHER · Posted: Mon 01 Dec 2008 02:03 Post subject:

Did the title come from the same woman who wrote this, i.e. what is WRONG with European men? Either way, it's kind of sad that a level playing field was so shocking to her and possibly even considered WRONG. It looks like she needs a lesson in U.S. slavery, Jim Crow laws, etc. Shucks, she needs to join onedroprule.org! Laughing

Dragon Horse · Posted: Mon 01 Dec 2008 16:05 Post subject:

MisterLawyer · Posted: Mon 01 Dec 2008 16:17 Post subject:

My read is that the author is not self-aware enough and not a talented enough observer for us to make any conclusions about race relations in Europe based on her observations.

Famu · Mentor Joined: 27 Sep 2007 {Posts: 261 }

They've been "wondering" this for years, especially concerning England and France.

I do think men in general are more open in Europe, but I don't think the differences are wild or even that big of a deal. There just is a culture of wanting the "exotic".

sagascend · Moderator Joined: 17 Jun 2006 {Posts: 2111 }

Poor thing. This is why I say it is imperative that more USAmericans leave the country. There's a whole new world out there and it is traumatizing a lot of people who needed the wake up call. Laughing

girlfromthenc · Mentor Joined: 27 Nov 2004 {Posts: 231 }

I switch back and forth between whether Black women in Europe are considered beautiful or just exotic. I think its more of an exotic thing, because many times the Black female white male couples I have seen the women are not even 'beautiful' by my own standard and I am a Black woman! I suppose its like the blond thing here in America, when you're with a Black woman in Europe all eyes are on you! You become the center of attention, and some men like that! All you have to do is stay relatively slim and have all your parts be where they are suppose to be and you're pretty much good to go! You might get a few rude looks from a few older Europeans, but nothing major..

True story: I have met foreign people who have come to America (from Senegelese men to German men) who told me when they were in their country they use to see actresses like Pam Grier, Halle Berry and Vivica Fox and thought they were some of the most beautiful women they had ever seen. They were disappointed when they got to America and the Black women weren't glamorous and sophisticated like the ones they saw on t.v. I tried to explain to them that t.v. is the worst way to judge how people look in a country. These actress probably spend 2 hours in the makeup trailer before going on set. Its no more reasonable to expect every AA woman to look like Megan Good than to expect every White American woman to look like Pam Anderson:lol:

Famu · Mentor Joined: 27 Sep 2007 {Posts: 261 }

Powell · Guru Joined: 27 Nov 2004 {Posts: 2176 }

Grasshoppa · Posted: Fri 19 Dec 2008 17:30 Post subject:

I've got to admit that, in reference to foreign women who come to the U.S., I'd prefer them over average American women. My gripe is with lots of American women my age who who have very specific expectations for how I should "be" in terms of how I act, dress, etc...Moreso with "black cultured" individuals; I don't feel like my type is very popular, especially among women who I deem attractive. For that reason, I would openly pursue a person outside of my own culture, in hopes that they were not so focused on finding that tough guy, arrogant fool type that seems to be such a preference in the U.S.

onlyhuman77 · Posted: Fri 19 Dec 2008 19:15 Post subject: Re: Judging by TV standards

sagascend · Moderator Joined: 17 Jun 2006 {Posts: 2111 }

girlfromthenc · Mentor Joined: 27 Nov 2004 {Posts: 231 }

The ironic thing about Grasshoppa's statement (which I'm not doubting for one second is not true), is that when talking to the average non-black person especially a foreign woman they would insist that (and expect ) American males of visible African ancestry to act a certain way (the normal "gangsta" stereotype and count that as the reason why they would never date one, which I secretly suspect colorism is more of the cause).

You'll find more White women than not like this as well, however White and Black American women would be more open to deviations in American males of known African ancestry than the average Asian or Hispanic female! Its normally only when foreign women have been Americanized or families have been in this country for 2 or 3 generations do they start to recognize different behavior amongst cultures.

Famu · Mentor Joined: 27 Sep 2007 {Posts: 261 }