Sex: The Final Fronteir of Racism?
Recently I had a talk with a dear friend about our various adventures in online dating. He was regaling me with stories of not wanting to be shallow but never quite being able to commit to any of the several BBW's that he had been out with over the years. We chuckled and laughed and I let him know, "Hey we all have sexual preferences... and we can't force them to be politically correct." A coworker was complaining to me about her sister's taste in men once. According to my coworker her sister only ever had any interest in dating "thugs." How my coworker described it to me stuck with me for a long time afterwards. Attempting to dispel any accusation I might have of her being a racist she said, "I understand sexual preferences... I like women! Why can't the men she dates be educated with jobs? They're out there!" I guess what surprised me the most was that she equated "having a type" with what we would normally refer to as "sexual identity." Is preferring one race of partner over another on par with preferring one gender of partner over another? I still come back to this question in my thoughts from time to time but overall I think the definition of "sexual identity" should perhaps be broader than simply a gender preference to also to include anything that would serve to attract..
My favorite way to kill a boring afternoon: blog.okcupid.com! Has anyone ever checked out this blog? It is endlessly entertaining to me; I love it! However, this article http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/your-race-affects-whether-people-write-you-back/ made me really sad due to this graphic:
As you can see, your prospects are highly effected by your ethnicity especially if you are a White male or a Black female. This doesn't seem fair does it?
A counter argument to saying a racial romantic preference is beyond one's control is asking how much does socialization (or media influence) effect our perception of beauty? And do certain ethnicities take a hit? A definitive answer might be impossible to give. African-American Barbie is just as top-heavy as Euro-American Barbie. Kari Washington and Naomi Campbell are examples of strikingly gorgeous African-American females who have had extremely successful careers.... but then there's Beyonce. I don't want to hate on Beyonce. I like her music and as a woman myself with a lil' junk in my trunk it is Beyonce I thank for helping me feel Bootylicious. However, it was perhaps two years ago when I had a coworker tell me she was not a Beyonce fan because Beyonce was trying to look White. At first all I could say was "whaaaaaaaaaat?" A few months later I mistook Beyonce for Brittany Spears on accident and had to admit that my coworker might be onto something.
This isn't to say that culture isn't a considerable factor when choosing a mate. I'm reminded of a story a classmate told last week about her Indian roommate who refused to return to India and unite with his arranged bride. Instead, he stays put in America and wonders why the girls he meets online don't accept his marriage proposal after he takes them out for coffee. Sometimes expectations and views on the form and function of a marriage relationship vary too greatly for the divide to be mended cross-culturally. Though my hats off to those who try to make it work!
So what is porn if not a fun-house mirror reflection of our collective feelings towards relationships? What is porn except the mass media's crazy crack smoking cousin? But unlike other crack heads porn is the most profitable industry globally! Every second in the US over three thousand dollars is being spent on porn and a new porn video gets made every 39 minutes. Porn grosses more money annually than the NFL.
We know that the most popular porn websites put an emphasis on catering to the fetishes of individuals, however, does anyone with a social conscious ever stop to wonder the effects of categorizing a race of people as a fetish? Racialized sexuality contributes to the sexual objectification of a certain people group. Sexual objectification is the fundamental belief that fuels rape culture and the sex trade - two things not unfamiliar to the women of Bangkok, Thailand where sexual tourism is commonplace. Nobody is typing "White porn" into their search engine these days, are we? White people aren't considered a fetish. Porn legitimizing the categorizing of it's industry's workers by race creates limited opportunities for those who will only ever be able to fill a niche role. Working in porn, one is legally employed and making a living working within an overtly racist environment. Its shocking there isn't outcy on this topic.
Dr. Miller-Young, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Women's Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
She wrote a piece for the New York Times called "Empowering to Women on the Screen" in November of 2012. In this article, she mentions gender and racial inequality still being a major problem in film today but exemplified in the porn industry. After conducting interviews with several adult film stars Miller-Young reports, "Overwhelmingly women do not control the production and distribution apparatus of the business ... The men tend to foster a competitive environment that pits female workers against one another ... African American women - and women of color in general - are paid half or three-quarters worth of what White actresses are paid." She goes onto comment how historically (since slavery) White America has devalued Black labor and the production value of adult films starring people of color is significantly less than films starring Whites. One anonymous adult film star of color added, "People never want to talk about the unfair treatment of those who work in the sex industry who get paid less and are expected to perform more extreme acts because of the color of their skin."
More on racial inequalities in the porn industry.
Keep your minds and your hearts open lovers,
- The Sexpert
My favorite way to kill a boring afternoon: blog.okcupid.com! Has anyone ever checked out this blog? It is endlessly entertaining to me; I love it! However, this article http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/your-race-affects-whether-people-write-you-back/ made me really sad due to this graphic:
As you can see, your prospects are highly effected by your ethnicity especially if you are a White male or a Black female. This doesn't seem fair does it?
A counter argument to saying a racial romantic preference is beyond one's control is asking how much does socialization (or media influence) effect our perception of beauty? And do certain ethnicities take a hit? A definitive answer might be impossible to give. African-American Barbie is just as top-heavy as Euro-American Barbie. Kari Washington and Naomi Campbell are examples of strikingly gorgeous African-American females who have had extremely successful careers.... but then there's Beyonce. I don't want to hate on Beyonce. I like her music and as a woman myself with a lil' junk in my trunk it is Beyonce I thank for helping me feel Bootylicious. However, it was perhaps two years ago when I had a coworker tell me she was not a Beyonce fan because Beyonce was trying to look White. At first all I could say was "whaaaaaaaaaat?" A few months later I mistook Beyonce for Brittany Spears on accident and had to admit that my coworker might be onto something.  |
This isn't to say that culture isn't a considerable factor when choosing a mate. I'm reminded of a story a classmate told last week about her Indian roommate who refused to return to India and unite with his arranged bride. Instead, he stays put in America and wonders why the girls he meets online don't accept his marriage proposal after he takes them out for coffee. Sometimes expectations and views on the form and function of a marriage relationship vary too greatly for the divide to be mended cross-culturally. Though my hats off to those who try to make it work!
So what is porn if not a fun-house mirror reflection of our collective feelings towards relationships? What is porn except the mass media's crazy crack smoking cousin? But unlike other crack heads porn is the most profitable industry globally! Every second in the US over three thousand dollars is being spent on porn and a new porn video gets made every 39 minutes. Porn grosses more money annually than the NFL.
We know that the most popular porn websites put an emphasis on catering to the fetishes of individuals, however, does anyone with a social conscious ever stop to wonder the effects of categorizing a race of people as a fetish? Racialized sexuality contributes to the sexual objectification of a certain people group. Sexual objectification is the fundamental belief that fuels rape culture and the sex trade - two things not unfamiliar to the women of Bangkok, Thailand where sexual tourism is commonplace. Nobody is typing "White porn" into their search engine these days, are we? White people aren't considered a fetish. Porn legitimizing the categorizing of it's industry's workers by race creates limited opportunities for those who will only ever be able to fill a niche role. Working in porn, one is legally employed and making a living working within an overtly racist environment. Its shocking there isn't outcy on this topic.
Dr. Miller-Young, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Women's Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
She wrote a piece for the New York Times called "Empowering to Women on the Screen" in November of 2012. In this article, she mentions gender and racial inequality still being a major problem in film today but exemplified in the porn industry. After conducting interviews with several adult film stars Miller-Young reports, "Overwhelmingly women do not control the production and distribution apparatus of the business ... The men tend to foster a competitive environment that pits female workers against one another ... African American women - and women of color in general - are paid half or three-quarters worth of what White actresses are paid." She goes onto comment how historically (since slavery) White America has devalued Black labor and the production value of adult films starring people of color is significantly less than films starring Whites. One anonymous adult film star of color added, "People never want to talk about the unfair treatment of those who work in the sex industry who get paid less and are expected to perform more extreme acts because of the color of their skin."
More on racial inequalities in the porn industry.
Keep your minds and your hearts open lovers,
- The Sexpert
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