Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Field Researcher
#26 Old 4th Sep 2011 at 8:04 PM
Quote: Originally posted by missy harries
I don't no, I've never come across it and I was wondering what the point to it was!
Some enlightenment from somebody would be nice please, google's no help for it and at least then I'll know how much I misinterpreted that post

It's an inequation sign; it means exactly the opposite of "=".
Google is often unhelpful when searching for symbols. I recommend Wikipedia's search feature.

One S, two As.
Advertisement
Forum Resident
#27 Old 4th Sep 2011 at 8:12 PM Last edited by missy harries : 4th Sep 2011 at 8:24 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by unalisaa
It's an inequation sign; it means exactly the opposite of "=".


Thank you unalisaa, does not equal did just occur to me after rereading his post
Yet again my idiocy never ceases to astound me! Why did no tell me sooner???? I do at least like to know when I've got something wrong

Disclaimer: These are the personally, personal opinions of me, myself and I. Yours may vary.
Terms & conditions do not apply
Instructor
#28 Old 4th Sep 2011 at 8:34 PM
Okaii the idea of racism is disgusting and it makes me pissed -.-
I hate racism and racists are extremely sick -.-
Maybe if you would date someone with a diffrent skintone could be your future couple?
I've seen many people marry who has a diffrent skin colour and they live happily.
Alchemist
#29 Old 4th Sep 2011 at 9:08 PM Last edited by The Creeper : 4th Sep 2011 at 9:24 PM. Reason: BENCH NOT BANK, YOU MORON!
Quote: Originally posted by missy harries
though elderly seem to think they have more right than us sometimes!

I agree. My friend was sitting with her feet on a bench. I don't condone this time of behaviour, but nevertheless. A woman in her 70s slapped the hell out of her for doing this, in front of at least 10 people. Most of them kept quiet, while the rest were on the old lady's side. Again, I do not condone "destroying" the urban furniture, but nobody has the right to hit anybody, no matter the age. In another situation, if it was someone from my age up to, let's say, 40, who was "lecturing" an old man for something (for example, spitting on the floor, a thing which, even though is considered to be the youth's behaviour, is done by older people as well), the crowd would have been on the old individual's side regardless. I consider it some kind of discriminating as well.

Back on topic, I think it also depends on how the individual responds to people belonging to a different race when they try to flirt with him/her. If he/she refuses them as they would to a normal person belonging to the same race, sometimes subtle, sometimes not, not bringing race into the discussion, it's not racist. On the other hand, if they actually mention race, or the skin colour, etcetera, then it can be labelled as racism.

It goes the same for refusing a person of the very same race, while mentioning physical features. Or, let's put it different in this case, if someone says something about physical characteristics in a mocking manner, then I consider it probably as discriminating as telling someone "I won't date you because you're of [x] race". I mean, something among the lines of "You're fat and ugly, I won't date you" or "Sorry, I don't like blondes/ brunettes/ gingers/ brown-haired people", etc. Might not be as offending, I cannot tell, as I haven't been put in either situation, but it is discrimination as well, in my opinion.

Evil doesn't worry about not being good. - The Warden, Dragon Age Origins
Theorist
#30 Old 4th Sep 2011 at 9:33 PM Last edited by Robodl95 : 4th Sep 2011 at 9:44 PM.
Let's remind ourselves that Asians, Arabs and Caucasians are all white. I would also count some Latin Americans and Indians in this but I'm not sure where they lie officially. What about albino black people? When someone says "I only date white people" most of the time they really mean originated from Europe or someone who looks and acts like they do (no afros, muslim scarfs, etc.)

Hi I'm Paul!
Alchemist
#31 Old 4th Sep 2011 at 10:08 PM
I was born in Romania and raised in Moldavia, two countries where people of other races than Caucasian are rarer. I don't seem to be... ignorant, related to matters of race. I don't have a lot of experience regarding blacks, or Asians, or stuff like that, as, even though I have seen and have spoken to such people, I didn't befriend them, because I didn't have the occasion, but I can speak about such things like any other individual would, with or without experience. Not trying to be rude, Wojtek, but having dealt with people of different races or not doesn't necessarily make you ignorant regarding such stuff.

Evil doesn't worry about not being good. - The Warden, Dragon Age Origins
Field Researcher
#32 Old 5th Sep 2011 at 1:22 AM
My parents are a mixed race couple, so I don't really look at skin colour when determining whether or not I find someone attractive because that seems normal to me. But you can't control who you are attracted to. As long as one isn't being hateful about it, it seems like a preference to me.
Top Secret Researcher
#33 Old 5th Sep 2011 at 5:51 AM
Most people in this thread seem to think this topic refers to people who say they will only date their own race, but there are also people who only date different races. My sister is white but won't date white guys (even though she hasn't specifically stated this every guy she has ever dated has been from other races), so does this make her racist against her own race?

Personally I feel sorry for people who restrict themselves to only having relationships with people with specific superficial traits. This may stop them from connecting with their perfect mate. The more you love someone the more attractive they are in your eyes, so something that you aren't attracted to at first you may seem very beautiful once you are in love with the person. You can say "I have only dated white guys" or "so far I have only been attracted to white guys", but it seems naive (or racist) to say "I will only date white guys" because none of us know what we will think in the future.
Mad Poster
#34 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 7:35 PM
I only dated dark-haired guys of whatever racial background. I didn't realize that until some years after getting married, but it was funny in retrospect: four guys, four different ethnic groups, all dark haired. My husband's not the same race as I am, but the cultural differences are the biggie, always, when we run into relationship issues.

Wojtek--remember that race does not equal culture in English. It only seems like it should because of your country's situation. You would not have any more cultural commonalities with a white American than with a black American (or any of the other ethnic/racial groups we have here), but a mixed race marriage in the US would, unless one spouse was an immigrant, share the same culture. I expect this applies to any multiracial country. (It's a little more complicated than that in the US because the vast majority of us are descendents of fairly recent immigrants, but basically, that's the difference.)

Simbalena--I can see at least one good genetic reason for only dating outside one's own race: lethal recessives.
Ms. Byte (Deceased)
#35 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 8:22 PM
I agree with BurgundyStars and think that responding with an absolute 'no, it's not racist' or 'yes, it's racist' is an oversimplification of a complicated situation.

It depends, and it can be a little of one and a little of the other. People aren't all the same - one individual might simply have a preference for light skin, while another may have the same preference but on some level it's because they have a negative emotional reaction to the idea of having an intimate relationship with a Black or Indian or Hispanic or whatever. Someone can say and believe they just happen to not find certain skin colors or racially-associated features attractive, but where is that preference coming from?Those cases are likely to be some degree of racism although I'd hesitate to call everyone with those feelings a racist, which is a very loaded word. It could be concious or subconcious and something the person would never admit even to themselves. We (at least many/most of us) grew up in a world that still has a good deal of racism and sometimes those attitudes sink in whether we want them or not and whether we admit them or not.

And it's not really comparable to prefering blondes or brunettes or redheads because there's no history of organized and pervasive prejudice or negative stereotypes against any particular hair color. (There are stereotypes but not on the same level in most societies.)
Scholar
#36 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 8:54 PM
Quote: Originally posted by CmarNYC
I agree with BurgundyStars and think that responding with an absolute 'no, it's not racist' or 'yes, it's racist' is an oversimplification of a complicated situation.

It depends, and it can be a little of one and a little of the other. People aren't all the same - one individual might simply have a preference for light skin, while another may have the same preference but on some level it's because they have a negative emotional reaction to the idea of having an intimate relationship with a Black or Indian or Hispanic or whatever. Someone can say and believe they just happen to not find certain skin colors or racially-associated features attractive, but where is that preference coming from?Those cases are likely to be some degree of racism although I'd hesitate to call everyone with those feelings a racist, which is a very loaded word. It could be concious or subconcious and something the person would never admit even to themselves. We (at least many/most of us) grew up in a world that still has a good deal of racism and sometimes those attitudes sink in whether we want them or not and whether we admit them or not.

And it's not really comparable to prefering blondes or brunettes or redheads because there's no history of organized and pervasive prejudice or negative stereotypes against any particular hair color. (There are stereotypes but not on the same level in most societies.)


While I agree that sometimes preferences may reflect prejudice, you seem to be implying that racism is the primary reason for which a person would not find the features of other races attractive. There is at least one reason why a person might prefer those of his/her race that is not based in racism. There is a phenomenon known as Genetic Sexual Attraction where related individuals who meet in adulthood (and therefore are not subject to the Westermarck Effect) sometimes fall in love. This is because many people find those with features (and personalities, though it isn't relevant to the topic at hand) similar to their own attractive. This isn't a matter of social training, but seems to be an innate quality. Not everyone feels strongly attracted to those with similar features, but it is common enough to be noteworthy.

While it is possible for those of other races to share similar physical features, realistically, a person with little recent racial mixing in his/her background is likely to have features that fit closely with a norm for his/her race/region and that will not be like the typical features of most other races/regions. Therefore, an individual with a strong preference for features similar to his/her own is unlikely to find a person of another race as attractive as persons of his/her race.
Theorist
#37 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 11:04 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Wojtek
@Sunbee: Exactly. I don't really want to be prejudiced but when I see a non-white person on the street I immediately think about him or her as a non-native who doesn't even know a word in Polish. I cannot change that, it happens automatically. Maybe in the capital Warsaw or more representative cities like Poznañ, Wroc³aw, Kraków or Trójmiasto (Gdañsk, Gdynia and Sopot) there are more non-white people who came to my country to work temporarily but in my backward city, even in the city center there are almost no non-whites. There is something in the consciousness that makes us automatically assume that a non-white person is not Polish. It cannot be changed.

So you just choose to accept your prejudice? People have said "it cannot be changed" about a lot of things, and it usually can. 200 years ago in the southern US if you were to ask about the treatment of blacks I'm sure they would say that that couldn't be changed either.

Hi I'm Paul!
Mad Poster
#38 Old 8th Sep 2011 at 11:44 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Robodl95
So you just choose to accept your prejudice? People have said "it cannot be changed" about a lot of things, and it usually can. 200 years ago in the southern US if you were to ask about the treatment of blacks I'm sure they would say that that couldn't be changed either.


In my country the situation is similar to what Wojtek described. You rarely see a black person, and there are quite a few Romanians that have a black parent, yet most people assume at first glance that they are not Romanians simply based on their skin colour and physical appearance. No one discriminates against them, quite the opposite, they are considered exotic and attractive as far as physical/sexual attraction goes. However, cultural differences are real regardless of whether a person is white, black or asian if he or she is from a different country/ethnic group than you are. It may not be very apparent in the States because of the multiculturalism and multiracial society but in countries where the diversity is not that prevalent, it becomes very obvious. No need to call people prejudiced just because they are not used to see 4 different races and 10 different ethnicities on their way to work every day.
e3 d3 Ne2 Nd2 Nb3 Ng3
retired moderator
#39 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 12:09 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Wojtek
@Sunbee: Exactly. I don't really want to be prejudiced but when I see a non-white person on the street I immediately think about him or her as a non-native who doesn't even know a word in Polish.

That's interesting, because in the city where I live (in the UK), we have a very multicultural society and our local councils have taken to printing official documents in several different languages, including Polish (we have a large Polish community), Urdu, Bengali and Chinese.

If you go to the supermarket, you inevetably hear people speaking different languages, and you are likely to encounter people whose main language is not English in shops, cafes, businesses, even local government.

So if I were to assume that every white person spoke English, I will often be wrong! Quite a different experience from where you live.
Theorist
#40 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 12:10 AM
Quote: Originally posted by crocobaura
In my country the situation is similar to what Wojtek described. You rarely see a black person, and there are quite a few Romanians that have a black parent, yet most people assume at first glance that they are not Romanians simply based on their skin colour and physical appearance. No one discriminates against them, quite the opposite, they are considered exotic and attractive as far as physical/sexual attraction goes. However, cultural differences are real regardless of whether a person is white, black or asian if he or she is from a different country/ethnic group than you are. It may not be very apparent in the States because of the multiculturalism and multiracial society but in countries where the diversity is not that prevalent, it becomes very obvious. No need to call people prejudiced just because they are not used to see 4 different races and 10 different ethnicities on their way to work every day.

He's the one who first mentioned his prejudice not me. I totally understand why a unicultural nation would feel that way but saying that it'll never change is a bit much. One day I'm sure people will get over their suspicions of non-whites.

Hi I'm Paul!
Instructor
#41 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 6:25 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Extensa5420
I remember taking a Sociology class a few years ago. The instructor said that United States is the most multicultural country, whereas Japan is the most monocultural country. Something to think about.


That sounds like it has a little bit of bias.
Field Researcher
#42 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 7:09 AM
I see it as preference. I'll date any guy/girl that I like, regardless of their race. I tend to only date white people though, because it's their general appearance and personality that appeals to me. Not to sound prejudice, it's just that most black guys in my town are violent gang members who do drugs, while most of the white guys are athletic outdoorsmen who get decent grades. I just really prefer the latter. I guess that's why they call me the racist of the family, though I don't understand how I can be racist towards myself.
Instructor
#43 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 8:36 AM
Technically it's possible to have same race racism but it usually comes with a lot of self hate or even delusions about what race you see yourself as. That doesn't seem to be the case with you acid_paradox.
Mad Poster
#44 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 9:39 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Robodl95
He's the one who first mentioned his prejudice not me. I totally understand why a unicultural nation would feel that way but saying that it'll never change is a bit much. One day I'm sure people will get over their suspicions of non-whites.


You have to realise that some countries are not that targeted by immigrants and as such their chances of becoming a multicultural and multiracial society are minimal. Like Wojtek mentioned, language barrier is one reason, then there are economic reasons, and even cultural reasons for that not to happen. Besides, if you, as a white person, go to certain asian or african countries you'll be the exotic element, the stranger that everyone will be suspicious or curious about.
Instructor
#45 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 10:34 AM
If not racist, it is definitely superficial. Which most people are anyway.
Scholar
#46 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 12:43 PM
As a kid from a mixed race couple, I can say that race does not matter to me, but culture definitely does. I would not date anyone who's culture clashes with mine, it would be too much trouble for me.
As for physical appearance, I do have my preferences, but I have found those to appear in a lot of races.

Please visit WickedNoukFamily Forum for my creations.
Can't take requests, I'm completely swamped with unfinished projects! :O
Instructor
#47 Old 9th Sep 2011 at 11:36 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Wojtek
Why did you understand what I meant only after crocobaura's response? I am not going to lie to you but write the truth, even the most painful one without beating around the bush. It's not a surprise that eastern Europe is different than the West. And the thing about the States and Japan is true. Japan is one of the most homogeneous countries. Having a little bit of research before posting is a good idea for Elyasis.


I did do research. That's how I know that statement has bias.

"In the United States, continuous mass immigration had been a feature of economy and society since the first half of the 19th century.[40] The absorption of the stream of immigrants became, in itself, a prominent feature of America's national myth. The idea of the Melting pot is a metaphor that implies that all the immigrant cultures are mixed and amalgamated without state intervention.[41] The Melting Pot implied that each individual immigrant, and each group of immigrants, assimilated into American society at their own pace which, as defined above, is not multiculturalism as this is opposed to assimilation and integration. An Americanized (and often stereotypical) version of the original nation's cuisine, and its holidays, survived."
From Wikipedia

Now if we are talking strictly about ethnic groups the US has plenty but they all share a single American culture with only remnants of their original heritage left intact. Multiculturalism implies many cultures coexisting peacefully beside one another in the same country.

As for Japan, they aren't as homogeneous as they would like everyone to believe. For instance their own Native peoples the Ainu are still quite strong in the north around Hokkaido. Also there is a decent amount of immigration there from various countries. However they do still have quite a xenophobic bent, especially in less populated areas.
Also from Wikipedia

The bias is because of the perceived images of both countries. America broadcasts itself as a diverse and welcoming country... Until you are actually trying to apply for citizenship.

Japan is struggling to maintain a national identity right now and in so doing projects to the world that it is only a "one race" nation when that isn't completely true.
Scholar
#48 Old 10th Sep 2011 at 2:48 AM
I would say overall that no, it's not racist simply to prefer a specific skin color in a dating partner. People may prefer brunettes, they may like freckles, or large breasts, muscular abs... Lots of different physical attributes, and that should include skin color as well. At its basic level, it's not racist. However, preferences may arise because of racism.

I think people should be free to have as many or as few preferences as they want. Just as long as it's not fueled by some form of hatred.

♦ Animal Lover, Eco Friendly, Loner, Perfectionist, Vegetarian ♦

Sensitivity is strength.
Fus Ro Dah!
retired moderator
#49 Old 12th Sep 2011 at 12:47 AM
Is it racist or not depends on the person who says this.
If he says this because he thinks that black/white people are someway better that others, then yes, it is racist.
If the person who says it thinks that black/white skin color is more attractive to him, then no, it's not racist. It could be just a fetish (like hair or eye color).

As I am a "mixture" of different cultures, I don't feel any barriers to date a person with different skin color. I really admire dark skin, because I am pale like a corpse and I hate that :D
As for Wojtek, you will never know if dating a white girl is better for you until you will date a black girl. It's a bit unfair to say that until you try it, it's just your preconception. Who knows, maybe a black girl will make you happier.

For more Sims 3 stuff by me - visit Ace Creators
My FB Fan page - Elexis's Sims Stuff
My Simblr - ElexisSims
Ms. Byte (Deceased)
#50 Old 12th Sep 2011 at 7:08 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Purplepaws
I would say overall that no, it's not racist simply to prefer a specific skin color in a dating partner. ... At its basic level, it's not racist. However, preferences may arise because of racism.


Exactly, and that's the point I was trying to make previously. Preferences are individual and come from many causes but they're likely to be influenced by societal attitudes, and some societies (like mine) consider Caucasian features more attractive and to some extent at least light coloring more attractive, including skin, hair, and eyes. Is the individual who finds fair-skinned, blue-eyed blondes with upturned little noses most attractive a racist? Probably not. But is the underlying societal prejudice against darker coloring and African or Hispanic features racist? I think it is.
 
Page 2 of 15
Back to top