Is It Racist to Prefer a Particular Race When Dating?

Reporter Kang Hyun-gi

kangcandace@naver.com

Some people do not care about the other person's race at all when dating, but a lot of people prefer a specific race. This is always a controversial issue and many people debate whether this kind of race preference is racism or not. Even when I talk with my friends, this issue arises. I have also seen some people being sarcastic about people dating a person of a different ethnic origin in current society. Of course, it is very common for people to prefer a partner from the same race as themselves because of the culturual background. Maybe some stereotypes also exist, as well. Even though a few people consider this preference as racism, I would say that it cannot be considered as such.

I do not think sexual preference is a form of intolerance. It is not a problem if you are more attracted to certain external conditions unless you see people with other characteristics as inferior. Having a racial preference because you have hate towards a certain race is racism. However, just because someone is not sexually attracted to someone from Asia, for example, it does not mean that they do not want to work with them, or believe that they are naturally superior to them.

There is one point that we should think about more deeply. Let's imagine that a random person says that they only date Asian girls because they are small, quiet, and subservient. Is this racist? Yes. This kind of case is well-known as 'Yellow Fever,' which means the fetishization of Asian people. If your fetish is based on these stereotypes and makes you see someone as an object of consumption, then that is where it becomes a problem.

If your preferences are purely because you just find certain skin colors more attractive than others, I do not see it as a problem. It would become problematic, however, if your preferences were based on some stereotypes you had about the personality or behaviors of certain races.

Like it or not, racial preferences are very common in the world and honestly, many of us have one, and we also cannot control that. I think all of us have to think about this point and whether our racial preference is based on a stereotype or not.