Having an aesthetic racial preference
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It express doubts like any scientific theory ever? It is true that there are better examples, but there's certainly no shortage of peer reviewed scientific articles that supports the existence of a universal set of biology-based beauty constants. Note how the study is cross racial, cross gender and cross cultural, to boot. Hell, even babies with a couple of life hours can recognice beautiful visages, go figure. There's little social preassure on that preferences.
I don't see what is so pseudoscientific and outrageous about the notion that biology certainly plays a role when defining what we consider to be beautiful, with symmetry being chiefly among these desired traits. It is even applicable to our concept of non-human beauty as it explains for example, why do we find certain mathematical formulas to be "elegant".
I acknowdegle that there are indeed cultural forces that shapes what we consider to be beautiful too. But I like to play the contrarian in the "nuture VS nature" debate since I do believe that the penduluum has gone from the "everything is biological" of the XIXth century to our XXIth century's "everything is social", much to the convenience of political correction. We all are, afterall, social animals. So a little tad more nuance would be in order, me thinks. Racism and social constructs, while very real and still alive, are not the ever-present, omnipotent overwhelming forces that we make them out to be.
don't see anything wrong with that. it's entirely subjective, not finding people attractive doesn't mean you dislike them or think they are worth less, it's just a sexual preference.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
You don't see anything wrong with dismissing an entire race as unattractive?
HappyBivouac
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I really don't see that as being racist, and implying I am is really quite offensive especially when you don't actually know me. It could be that my wording is poor? I'm not sure. In any case, like I said women of all backgrounds are thoroughly appreciated by myself, I just happen to gravitate towards the asian girls more.
I think your intentions are harmless, and I apologize for the offense. But yes, as you said, your choice of words does run the risk of making people feel they're being fetishized or reduced to a stereotype. "Exotic" isn't necessarily a positive label.
race based attraction is racist on some level especially if you're saying something like "I don't like black girls" dismissing an entire race or "oh man I have yellow fever" fetishing another.
HappyBivouac
Member
It also needs to be pointed out that liking someone for his/her race is quite a bit different than simply being more often attracted to people of a certain race. If you like someone just for his/her race, then you're being kind of shitty. People want to be treated as individuals, not as cardboard cutouts of what you believe defines their "race."
cyberheater
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You are crazy. I'm attracted to white slim blonds. That is my type. I'm not saying other races that don't match that profile are ugly. They are not. Every race has beautiful woman. But nothing on earth will make me change my type. That does not make me racist nor is my preference weird or alien.
no it isn't, I might not be attracted to black girls but that doesn't mean I dislike them. I won't say I will never be attracted by a black girl but so far I haven't, there is nothing more to it.
Depends on how you word it, "I don't find myself attracted to [insert race] girls" isn't racist. Doesn't mean I think any less of them for that.
Hey man whatever you want to tell yourself. The above statement is very suspect.
Have you ever reflected on why you've never been attracted to a black woman?
And racism isn't limited to dislking certain races.
cubicle47b
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I have a slight aesthetic preference for black women. I always thought people with darker skin colors carried weight better. Queen Latifah, Retta (Donna from Parks & Recreation), and other dark skinned women just look better to me than white women of that age and weight. Recently, a few prominent celebrities have blown me away. Kerry Washington in particular. Seeing her on Scandal for the first time was like a revelation. I didn't know anyone could be that beautiful.
I'm kind of like Besada in that I'm starting to find most people attractive, though.
I'm kind of like Besada in that I'm starting to find most people attractive, though.
hey, it's not my fault I'm attracted to beautiful soft mermaids and not brute-looking monkeys. You can't deny that every race has characteristics, and I have yet to find a single beautiful monkey. . #teammermaid
Human kind at its finest.
It's incorrect to believe your preferences are entirely natural or that societal influence doesn't matter in the context of your view on ethnicity and your attraction to them. The point is it's important to recognize those factors, even if it's 'just' sexual attraction and not accounting for anything else about the object of desire.
In layman terms, it means using ethnic descriptors to define what is attractive to you instead of physical descriptors like blond hair, big boobs, muscles, shapely chin, eyes, and so forth, implies that you have assumptions about said ethnicities, many of which may be based off stereotypes. Because it's such a sensitive topic, the way you phrase the language you use to communicate about it can send messages you may not have intended for.
In layman terms, it means using ethnic descriptors to define what is attractive to you instead of physical descriptors like blond hair, big boobs, muscles, shapely chin, eyes, and so forth, implies that you have assumptions about said ethnicities, many of which may be based off stereotypes. Because it's such a sensitive topic, the way you phrase the language you use to communicate about it can send messages you may not have intended for.
I think the problem is someone being able to even know why someone is attractive to them. I know I can't tell personally. I really have no idea.
Maybe he does dislike darker skin tones, maybe there's some other criteria the sample group share that he doesn't like, maybe there are black women he finds attractive and didn't even know they were black, there could be lots of potential holes in the fence of that statement. Off the top of my head, I really can't name that many black women I find attractive, I can name some certainly, but it's not many, I can name even less Asian women I find attractive.
I suppose if I really wanted to, I could get images of every celebrity I think is attractive and attempt to build a profile of characteristics they share, but I think there would be very little I could derive from that data. I highlighted the dark hair/blue eyes thing on the previous page, but do I really have a preference for that, or is it something that just happens to stand out about certain people because it's very noticeable. Certainly Alexandra Daddario would still be very attractive in contact lenses, and Nathalie Emmanuel would still be very attractive with a lighter or darker skin tone, it's impossible for me identify what thing attractive people have in common for me.
It's one of the more interesting aspects of the human experience actually, our experience with faces. People always say "Sorry, I'm terrible with names" or whatever, but they're not, they're just insanely exceptional at remembering faces. From a 20x20 pixel face in an avatar you can recognize thousands of people with no effort whatsoever. Someone has a tiny avatar of Lauren Graham (the full body, with room to spare, so she's maybe 100 pixels tall at the most), but it's instantly recognizable to anyone who knows what she looks like. And yet, my ability to assimilate facial data in any meaningful way is completely terrible. I've always feared seeing a crime because I'm sure even if I'd recognize the person from twenty feet, I'd never be able to help build one of those art impressions of someone.
There are things people always cite, symmetry, soft features, clear skin, full lips, thin eyebrows, etc, maybe those things are true, but it's completely subconscious I think. There's something people say in England, I don't know about elsewhere, but 'the double take', it's when you're walking down the street, and in the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of someone attractive, and while you process it, you've turned away and then look back to see her. I think not only is that true, and common, it's a good example of how instinctive attractiveness is. It's like a sixth sense, someone instantly is or isn't physically attractive, and you can practically sense it.
then replace the word race with ethnicity. Whatever works for you. I think it's clear what people mean here.
Red Mage
Member
I think people should keep in mind that not everyone here is a native English speaker, so something sensative like this can be easy to fumble.
Anyhow, preferences, so long as they remain preferences, are not bad. Everyone has a tendency towards certain physical aspects they find attractive, even the ones who are claiming otherwise. I think what's going on here is that for some people, the prefered combination of facial structure, hair, eyes, lips, nose, and body type may be more commonly found in one or more ethnic groups. For others, the combinations tend to be more evenly spread about genetically speaking.
For myself, I tend to find myself preferring American Indian, Arabic, Asian, or Indian women, but I've seen several women of different ethnicities who had the right combination of features, so that I found them quite attractive.
Anyhow, preferences, so long as they remain preferences, are not bad. Everyone has a tendency towards certain physical aspects they find attractive, even the ones who are claiming otherwise. I think what's going on here is that for some people, the prefered combination of facial structure, hair, eyes, lips, nose, and body type may be more commonly found in one or more ethnic groups. For others, the combinations tend to be more evenly spread about genetically speaking.
For myself, I tend to find myself preferring American Indian, Arabic, Asian, or Indian women, but I've seen several women of different ethnicities who had the right combination of features, so that I found them quite attractive.
I think if people are finding that, in general, they don't find people from a certain race attractive then they should reflect on why. It may be that, for some inexplicable reason, they just find dark or light skin more attractive. But it might also be that they have some underlying preconception about certain races that leads them to find certain groups physically unattractive.
And personally, I'm just baffled that with the number of black women in the mainstream media in the US and UK some straight men in this thread don't find a single one of them attractive.
People always point to Beyonce and the like and I just don't get it. They do nothing for me. Sorry.
There's nothing wrong with the position you're taking now, but your previous post was a bit too heavy handed in the biological direction. Particularly quotes like this:
Where you're completely writing off the social construct aspects as PC agenda, which none of your sources/examples do themselves.
And this is fine and good for the discussion in this thread, but it's good to also provide sources/info supporting the contrary as well. For example, this old video of the white doll/black doll test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG7U1QsUd1g
You can't watch things like this and not acknowledge some form of social conditioning in our society when it comes to attraction/beauty standards if you expect to be taken seriously.
You don't need to apologise but I'll remain baffled.
I don't think Beyonce is attractive either. What's your instant reaction to this GIF?
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http://s30.postimg.org/51rdmh8dr/Nathalie_Emmanuel_Sexy.gif
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Pretty much.
I'm basically "color-blind", but I do have preferences. People give themselves too much credit for what they're attracted to, it's weird to me. Regardless, you people are lucky to live in racially diverse countries
God Dayumm
Banned
It's only racist if they are not attracted to me.
SPOILER:
SPOILER:
Everyone is racist T_T
Boom Boom Pow
Banned
i personally don't find black female attractive, save for like rihanna, beyonce, and a few of the actress. probably cuz all the ones i see are just all really...fat
and the ones that aren't fat just...aren't right with teh whole facial features.
then again, ican say the same for most of other skin color too, but they're not as fat i guess
and the ones that aren't fat just...aren't right with teh whole facial features.
then again, ican say the same for most of other skin color too, but they're not as fat i guess
Pretty much.
I'm basically "color-blind", but I do have preferences. People give themselves too much credit for what they're attracted to, it's weird to me. Regardless, you people are lucky to live in racially diverse countries
It isn't mostly chemical however. Society plays a large part in what is or isn't attractive. There are instinct-based attractive traits and there are socially determined attractive traits - thin women were most definitely not the standard of beauty in the 1700's for example. Understanding this is critically important to bettering our society insofar as both self-esteem for many people and why we have our preferences. Note that isn't saying preferences are bad, it's saying we should strive to understand the factors at play.
This is a gross stereotype that is racist.
I'm not sure weight is the same thing, but even then, "morbidly obese" has never been considered attractive, same with "skin-and-bones thin". There are traits I consider attractive that are present on different races, I do not believe society told me to find them attractive, to be honest.
High five man, high freaking five. It irritates me the more it's used (race).
I mostly date Asian women and as much as it is an aesthetic preference, I think it is equally a matter of reinforced behavior. I like trying new things and way back in my early college days having moved from the country to NYC I was surrounded by new types of women and I was curious if that special someone(s) could be somewhere I wouldn't think to look, so I tried it. It ended up being very rewarding so I continually seek that out.
I don't think a certain race has superior women or culture. For me it feels like something that "just happened".
I don't think a certain race has superior women or culture. For me it feels like something that "just happened".
That I can't judge attraction based on a low quality GIF.
sure, not specifically why not black women, but you see I have a very narrow specific taste in women. I don't like blondes, I don't like big bones(not necessarily fat), don't like big asses, don't like curly hair and so on. I can appreciate the beauty in every ethnicity/race but I'm only attracted to a specific group of people.
Boom Boom Pow
Banned
how is it racist when i'm saying most of the black females i've seen are all fat?
Borders?
Africans DON'T have facial characteristics that define them. Are you honestly that dense?
Ethiopians and Somalians (and other West Africans) are not phenotypically comparable to sub-Saharan or West Africans.
And yes, being unattracted to dark skin IS racist, by definition.
I don't think that's true, the late Baroque period artistically is loaded with depictions of thin women, or at least women in corsets, designed to make them look thin.
Boom Boom Pow
Banned
you have a very weird definition of what racism is then
There are traits that we find attractive instinctively, and there are traits we find attractive based on societal conditioning. Morbidly obese has never been considered attractive, but one can't deny that thin women were not the 'in' group in sexual attractiveness during that period, and it's a prime example of how society can shape our preferences. Hence the view that it's mostly biological is false, society has a large influence as well. I was more replying to the poster you quoted than your post.
They're voluptuous sure, but certainly not thin to the extent of the beauty standard now. Also, they were more focused on tiny waistlines as a sign of beauty rather than being healthy/exercise -> thin-with-full-butt+boobs. I could use any other culture throughout history to prove my point, I simply chose to use the Baroque period as my example.
But plenty of people are attracted to people of all shapes. I don't understand why some people's attraction are shaped by society but not other,
I disagree with this (for the record I find all colors attractive). Not being attracted to _______ is not the same as being discriminatory against _______.
Because you are using anecdotal evidence to tie a negative generalization on an entire race. It is racist.
Yeah, I should edit that. It is racist.
Boom Boom Pow
Banned
where are you getting this entire race from dude?
If you find white skin to be beautiful and black skin ugly, then I don't know what else to tell you.
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