Freedom To Date People Of Other Races

Call it my colonial hangover if you will, but I＊m attracted to white guys and I＊m a fan of cross-cultural and interracial dating. I＊m a 23-year-old Indian woman dating a Frenchman for four years, and this blog is my attempt to explain why an interracial couple should not be regarded as a repulsive oddity, as they so often are in our country.

To many people in India, the concept of an interracial couple is strange, vile even. And so, as a brown woman with a white boyfriend, I＊m often required to justify my preferences in men. Not only to my family and friends, but to strangers as well.

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Interracial and cross-cultural dating has become more common among young men and women today, probably because we＊re more globally conscious than we＊ve ever been. Through school, travel and work, we have more opportunities to meet and interact with people from other ethnicities and cultures.

So the most pressing question is this: Why should attraction and romantic love be confined to one race, community or culture?

Our attraction to people of other races may depend on a couple of different factors 每 what lies in the eyes of the beholder, beauty defined by culture, our exposure to media, and also preferences based on evolution. Because even science says it＊s a good idea to mix genes up. Sexual friction between races and cultures has a powerful genetic imperative.

But what＊s most infuriating to Indian women dating men of other races, is the stereotype that white guys are only interested in brown women for sexual fulfillment. So the obvious conclusion that far too many Indians come to is that the Indian women they are with must be loose and immoral.

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When we travel around the country, whether we＊re in Pushkar or Pondicherry, it＊s not uncommon for people to ask my boyfriend, ※Where did you find her?§. I＊m the target of lecherous stares when I walk through the streets of a small town holding his hand. And more than once, we＊ve been asked to move out of our rented apartment by landlords who believe that what we did went against Indian culture.

It＊s true that dating someone of a different nationality or race can be a challenge, but not necessarily for the two people who are together 〞 it＊s usually only an issue with people outside of the relationship, like concerned relatives and friends.

I＊m often asked why I don＊t try to land a nice Indian boy for myself. And to some extent, this may be a valid question. We tend to date people of the same race and nationality because we have a biological impulse to breed with those who are similar to us. And most people are hesitant to venture outside their prescribed cultural and societal boundaries.

But this fear diminishes as their breadth of life experience grows. And that＊s exactly what happened to me. Dating a man of a different race and culture has been an exciting and cultivating life experience for me. Our different racial backgrounds have even made us stronger as a couple.

So, the thing to understand here is that my preference for white guys doesn＊t make me an immoral, self-hating Indian woman, just like your tendency to date people only of your own race doesn＊t make you racist. When it comes to love and sexuality, it＊s best to leave race, culture and nationality out of it. Who I choose to share my life with should be nobody＊s business but my own.

Black, white, Asian 每aren＊t we all just looking for interesting people we can talk to and have a good time with?

I am open, truly open to whoever I am drawn to. After all, the heart wants what the heart wants, right?

The views expressed in the article are writer's own