Actually, I thought about that myself after I posted to that thread. And I suppose that technically, finding members of a certain group (Black guys, bald guys, guys with tattoos, guys with hammertoes) unattractive is not, in itself, racist.
However, that your enjoyment of a movie could be ruined entirely by the fact that the leading man is Black seems a bit over the top, to me (would Russell Crowe have made ALL the difference???). And it sort of implies that she considers Black people inferior, because my guess is that someone that shallow puts a great deal of weight on physical beauty. Her behavior implied that she did, in fact, consider Black men to be “icky”.
Plus, there’s a history at work, here (for me, anyway), one that has typically codified “beauty” based on skin color (lighter=prettier), hair texture (straighter=prettier), and facial attirbutes (smaller/sharper features=prettier). In other words, the “Blacker” you are, the uglier you are, and the closer to “White” you are, the more attractive you are. Blue Vein Society and whatnot. And such a codification does tend to be hierarchical.
Not to mention the fact that there are some huge generalizations at work here. Has she seen every Black man on earth? I doubt it. Does she assume that they all look like Wesley Snipes? Probably not. But the truth is that there are a whole heap of Black fellas out there that probably look a lot like her daddy or her last boyfriend.
Would she date one of them if she knew he were Black? One wonders.
That said, there is a very thin line, here, and it’s easy to get all up in arms over someone’s personal opinion, one to which she is certainly entitled. However, she should be more careful with her wording next time, if she doesn’t want to come across as racist.
My guess is that she doesn’t really care.
