[I’m white] I think that many foreign babies have chubbier cheeks, which makes them extra adorable. I’m guessing that scrawnier-looking babies look that way to everyone, not just whites.
It’s not racist to wonder how whites look to non-whites. I need to go find a baby to squeeze.
I knew some White people in China who had a baby boy.
They would go out in public sometimes and people would swarm them when they stopped to look at the baby and make it smile and stuff. It was mostly women, but some men were there too.
So, Chinese people think White babies are very, very cute.
That’s what I wanted to do; go over and pinch his cheeks and squeeze him and go all googoo over him. I controlled myself though because I didn’t want to offend anyone.
As a mother, I can tell you that I am always happy when someone goes all googoo over any of my children. I similarly go googoo over any baby I encounter of whatever national stripe. The grocery store is actually a lot of fun for me because of all the darling children I get to coo over.
Worldwide, a blond-haired blue-eyed baby (just like a blond adult) is going to get a lot of attention simply because those traits are so rare. There are a lot of positive media stereotypes about blonds, but many people can go their whole lives without actually seeing one. When they do meet one, it’s a source of fascination. White babies also tend to have light skin, which many cultures find to be highly desirable. I’m told that beyond money and green cards, one of the big reasons why white foreigners are desirable marriage partners in largely non-white foreign countries is the idea that the babies will be especially cute.
I think mostly the "babies of another race are especially cute’ is the novelty. I’m endlessly tickled by the rosy red cheeks Chinese babies often develop. But I’m sure to their parents it’s just a normal physical trait that is not particularly remarkable. Since pretty much all babies are cute, we interpret these differences as “extra cute.”
Due to hard-wiring beyond my control, most babies appear cute to me. When I do see a baby with a face only a mother could love, it is almost always a white baby with that looks-like-a-potato-but-not-as-charismatic look. I’m white, and I was that baby.
I lived in Japan when I was 14 to 16, and I had the same experience. I have blue eyes, and my hair was a very light blond back then (it’s brown/gray now).
When I’d walk down the street, Japanese people would ask to take my picture with some frequency, usually when they were drunk enough to get over their cultural reticence. A few times, strangers actually asked if they could touch my hair. I didn’t like it, but I’d say OK, figuring that my minor distaste was outweighed by their obvious fascination.
Even potato babies are cute in their own way, since a a great deal of cuteness can come from the ‘person, only miniature’ thing…although it works for non people too. My dog was a pretty ugly puppy, but the tininess helped her out.
I’m black and don’t think white babies that are cuter than average, but do think babies of all races are cute.