...hell I don't know. But I'm pretty sure they don't prefer chubby redheads.
The article, Do AA Men Prefer Blonde Strippers in Rice & Times by Hiram Lee-Gonzalez really got me thinking. In the article, Lee-Gonzalez disects some of the ways and why's of beauty. He brushes the cross-cultural aspect of beauty nicely (for the length of the article), noting beauty standards in different parts of the world--beauty standards that we, as Americans, will probably never experience. Lee-Gonzalez also takes a critical look at what he sees as a propensity for AA men to prefer tall, thin blonde (White) women over other types, even if the others may also (or even more so) aesthetically pleasing, were the man not confronted with the choice.
I really do like the points that Lee-Gonzalez makes, and on a sort of an intellectual, non-personal level, I really do embrace what seems to be his main point. Namely, "...we Asian-American men must also choose Asian-American women over white women--even blondes. ...Only then will we be in a position to ask Asian-American women to choose us over white men."
As I said, on a non-personal level, this is a wonderful thought. However (and here's where the "Rants" part of my heading comes in), isn't that, while productive in the short-run, quite stifling in the long-run?
Now, I know there are many, many people who would disagree, and see nothing wrong with unity in a self-defined community (in this case the Asian-American community). Neither do I. Yet, it seems that such a strict sense of unity may not only create a stronger community, but, when a blanket statement is made proscribing inter-community love, stifle the possibilities of building progressively larger communities?
Lee-Gonzalez quotes Shakespeare, saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I couldn't agree more. As a confirmed EOD (Equal Opportunity Dater), I have much love for all kinds of people (and not just the "hot kind"). And it may just be because I want a date, but I do believe that fetishizing love for those outside any identity label really can propagate fetishes. Still amidst a complicated situation with a PRC guy, I have experienced first-hand (what I perceive as) a White-woman fetish. I suppose I never thought (as I don't fit into the tall, thin, blonde category AT ALL) that I could be the "flavor of the month." Turns out, I was the flavor of a lifetime (PM me if you must ask how I know!). He really wanted to be with a White woman, and overlooked severe differences in values, personality, etc, to be with me (I'm definitely to blame, too, though. Love is not only blind, it's just freaking unperceptive at times). Hence, my pre-existing belief that AA male love for the beauty of their AA female (or male!) counterparts must be both normalized and "ideal" (though perhaps not idealized), has been further confirmed. BUT, that doesn't change my position. I'm (becoming!) single again, but I'm still a chubby redhead. I'm pretty open to the identity of my prospective partner, but I'm not stupid. I thank Lee-Gonzalez, but I have always known that AA men prefer blondes. And personally, I don't think that telling AA men that, in order for AA women to find them attractive, they must solely form relationships with AA women over relationships with White women. Maybe its just selfish, but I'd like a date too. I'm quite a funny, intelligent, and kind person, and for all the self-deprecating humor I engage in, I'm not half bad looking. ;)
This probably made no sense and I'll edit it when I have time. For now, please take it with a grain of salt, and realize that, while I come at this from a level that might seem trite, I do believe it has some deeper implications.
Personally, I like the Lee-Gonzalez' write-up on the Maasai. The word for beauty in Maasai culture is the same as the word for morality. Now, that could mean that ugly people are treated as immoral, but I'd like to think it means that beauty is seen as emanating from within.
Cheers.
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2 comments:
Greetings from Hiram Lee-Gonzalez, author of the Rice and Times article.
-Thank you for your thoughtful and interesting response. I did not bother to check for responses to my article at the time of publication (2006), so I apologize for the tardiness of this comment.
-Now, I was mostly referring to the light / dark hair color rivalry among white women that is usually depicted as blonde versus brown & black. And below white women are Asian / Pacific Islander / Indian / Native American women; below them I would rank Hiapanic / Latina women, but not in my case, as I am half-Hispanic / mitad Latina. Below them I would rank African American women, but not when looking for a mate for sports or music prodigies. (I apologize for smearing the idea of sex between strippers (article) and marriage (see U.S. Census, and http://www.asian-nation.org/interracial.shtml. Recreational sex with strippers is not intended for procreation, although they might end up having the children of their partners.)
-I think red hair sounds interesting for Asian black haired people themselves, because they can bleach their hair to a very dark yellow (I tried this idea up to this stage, then stopped), then put red dye in it, and it become a dark red / brown. Perhaps you may have seen modern youth, such as Japanese foreign exchange students, with such hair styles. It seems to be considered avante garde or hip, though by now perhaps passé.
-Skinny Asian people might breed well with chubby white people to produce medium build offspring, according to my loose estimate. Perhaps that might be helpful for you in your interaction with Asians who want to have heavier offspring than 50 kg (110 lbs.) like themselves.
-For another source, although I warn it may be less polite than my above sources, see: Satoshi Kanazawa; and skim old articles from: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist.
Thank you for the interest again.
On second thought, the blog might be too offensive; I recommend instead the 2007 (available used for a few U.S. dollars) book "Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters" by Satoshi Kanazawa and the late Alan S. Miller (available in other languages, including Mandarin Chinese); and news stories on this topic (according to 1 article, 56% of offspring of 2,972 beautiful couples were daughters). -The general academic discipline is evolutionary psychology for these 2 authors (one of them, Alan S. Miller, has passed away).
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