# Interracial couples **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010 "2018-05-11T20:25:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/41 "2018-05-14T13:22:59Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Or maybe I should say bi-racial. Black and white. A few years ago there was a minor commotion over a bi-racial couple in a commercial. It seems like now there isn’t a commercial that doesn’t have a bi-racial couple. I smile when I see one, but I almost never do. My golf buddy is black, but we are the only ones. What goes? Geez, where do you live? My sister, white, is married to a black man, and they’re maybe the fifteenth biracial couple I’ve known. My cousin, black, is married to a white guy, and they’d be #16. Common as dirt around here. Funny story; my sister and brother in law are both actors. A few years ago they were independently cast in a commercial that involved two “couples.” My broither in law was cast as the husband of the other (also white) actress. The director just didn’t think the real couple had on-screen chemistry. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/42 "2018-05-14T14:05:35Z")
Watching BBC programming lately, It seems like _every_ relationship is an interracial one. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/43 "2018-05-14T14:17:14Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Watching BBC programming lately, It seems like _every_ relationship is an interracial one. In UK cities interracial couples are not uncommon. Outside the cities, it’s much less common to see them. Whether the BBC are casting this way deliberately or the writers are trying to be edgy by making the characters this way or they’re just casting people without regard for race (which sounds nice but is unlikely) I dunno. But I personally know several such couples IRL in both the US and UK. As for US commercials, I always have a sneaking suspicion that the advertisers are hoping for the “Cheerios effect”; i.e. that someone or other will kick up a fuss and the foofarah about the ad will give it an immense amount of extra free exposure and the company will get to make public statements showing how open and tolerant they are and will then make a lot of money because of it. Of course, the more interracial couples appear on television, the less likely it is that that’ll happen. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/44 "2018-05-14T14:22:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > [Moderating] > No good can come of a thread where there’s more discussion trying to figure out what the topic is, than of the topic itself. **Lamar Mundane** , if you can’t clarify this in your next post, Monday at the latest, I’m going to just close this. Go ahead. It seems blindingly obvious to me. It’s just the usual pedants on here making a fuss. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/45 "2018-05-14T14:26:47Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Go ahead. It seems blindingly obvious to me. It’s just the usual pedants on here making a fuss. “It’s not my fault no one can understand the fragmented, incoherent OP I wrote.” Yes, that is one approach to take. Or, you know, you could simply explain more clearly what you were trying to say in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/46 "2018-05-14T15:36:25Z")
If a three-way occurs with three people of different races, is “tri-racial” a term you could use? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/47 "2018-05-14T15:54:27Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > If a three-way occurs with three people of different races, is “tri-racial” a term you could use? “Neapolitan”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/48 "2018-05-14T16:09:38Z")
Hint: If multiple people are asking what you meant and no one seems clear on it, it is NOT “blindingly obvious”. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/49 "2018-05-14T16:35:44Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I wouldn’t say forced, but rather, formulaic. I get the feeling that the casting person and producers are checking off boxes when they cast some of these commercials. White guy between 38-45? check. Black woman between 30-35? check. Except when they are required to depict someone negatively, like the burglar in ADT commercials. Today, there’s _absolutely no way_ that it can be _anything other_ than the whitest white man they can possibly find. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/50 "2018-05-14T16:37:24Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Go ahead. It seems blindingly obvious to me. It’s just the usual pedants on here making a fuss. No, I’m sorry, it isn’t obvious what you’re saying. - It seems like now there isn’t a commercial that doesn’t have a bi-racial couple. I smile when I see one, but I almost never do.\* You smile when you see what? When you see a commercial? When you see a real-life interracial couple? I \*think \*you are saying that interracial couples are more common on TV than in real life, but I’m not 100% sure that’s what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/51 "2018-05-14T16:42:21Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “Neapolitan”. 😃 Nooooooooooooooo!!! ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/52 "2018-05-14T16:47:42Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > In UK cities interracial couples are not uncommon. Outside the cities, it’s much less common to see them. Whether the BBC are casting this way deliberately or the writers are trying to be edgy by making the characters this way or they’re just casting people without regard for race (which sounds nice but is unlikely) I dunno. But I personally know several such couples IRL in both the US and UK. > > As for US commercials, I always have a sneaking suspicion that the advertisers are hoping for the “Cheerios effect”; i.e. that someone or other will kick up a fuss and the foofarah about the ad will give it an immense amount of extra free exposure and the company will get to make public statements showing how open and tolerant they are and will then make a lot of money because of it. Of course, the more interracial couples appear on television, the less likely it is that that’ll happen. This is a very different “Cheerios effect” than the one I am familiar with. Could you elaborate on why you use that name for the effect you are talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/53 "2018-05-14T16:48:07Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Or maybe I should say bi-racial. Black and white. A few years ago there was a minor commotion over a bi-racial couple in a commercial. It seems like now there isn’t a commercial that doesn’t have a bi-racial couple. I smile when I see one, but I almost never do. My golf buddy is black, but we are the only ones. What goes? In fact, I’ll try to parse the whole thing. I think he’s saying: \*Some years ago, a TV commercial showed an interracial couple. This was controversial at the time, but these days it’s very common to see them on TV. However I hardly ever see them in real life. My golf buddy and me are about the only ones I can think of. \* OP, let us know if this is a correct interpretation or not. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/54 "2018-05-14T16:57:23Z")
> [@Quint](#): > > This is a very different “Cheerios effect” than the one I am familiar with. Could you elaborate on why you use that name for the effect you are talking about? 2013 Cheerios commercial with interracial couple (with child) got some publicity. [Article](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/cheerios-commercial-racist-backlash_n_3363507.html). [Another article](https://www.today.com/news/cheerios-ad-mixed-race-family-draws-racist-responses-6C10169988) ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/55 "2018-05-14T18:04:15Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > In fact, I’ll try to parse the whole thing. I think he’s saying: > > \*Some years ago, a TV commercial showed an interracial couple. This was controversial at the time, but these days it’s very common to see them on TV. However I hardly ever see them in real life. My golf buddy and me are about the only ones I can think of. \* > > OP, let us know if this is a correct interpretation or not. Yes ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/56 "2018-05-14T18:10:17Z")
Except that were not a couple. He’s married and very rich. And I am very straight. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/57 "2018-05-14T20:02:18Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > 2013 Cheerios commercial with interracial couple (with child) got some publicity. > > [Article](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/cheerios-commercial-racist-backlash_n_3363507.html). [Another article](https://www.today.com/news/cheerios-ad-mixed-race-family-draws-racist-responses-6C10169988) Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/58 "2018-05-14T20:56:39Z")
**Lamar Mundane** , you’re lucky that **Peter Morris** got here before I did, to explain your not-at-all clear OP, which you yourself had no interest in clarifying. I’ll leave this open, but everyone else, let’s cut the discussion of what the OP meant, now that it’s finally cleared up. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/59 "2018-05-14T22:10:01Z")
Now that the meaning of the thread has been clarified, I think, I will say this: The OP must not live in California if he doesn’t see interracial couples often. Here in the Bay Area they are very common, at least if you’re taking white/Hispanic or white/Asian, and white/black couples aren’t rare. At one place I worked we noticed that every one of us white engineers had married an Asian woman. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010/60 "2018-05-15T00:20:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **Lamar Mundane** , you’re lucky that **Peter Morris** got here before I did, to explain your not-at-all clear OP, which you yourself had no interest in clarifying. I’ll leave this open, but everyone else, let’s cut the discussion of what the OP meant, now that it’s finally cleared up. What am I, chopped liver!? \>( [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interracial-couples/814010.md?page=4)