# Race and sexual attraction **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 4, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406 "2004-02-04T00:47:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/21 "2004-02-04T15:09:40Z")
> [@](#): > > _fruitbat_ > That is one of the silliest definitions of racism I have heard here and I’ve heard some doozies. Our sexual attractions are not under our control, it is the reasons for sexual attraction that may or may not be racist. That’s 'cause it’s not a definition, it’s a condition that fits the definition: > [@](#): > > _[dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com)_ > racist: n : a person with a prejudiced belief that one race is superior to others Doesn’t believing one race to be more beautiful, or worth romantic involvement, fit that definition? > [@](#): > > Though you are on a high horse I would suspect that there are any number of racial or ethnic groups you would find generally unattractive because of your cultural programming. Do you find the average Samoan attractive? Pygmy? Australian aboriginal man? I’m not on a high horse. I know I have flaws, I just haven’t volunteered to air them. I haven’t seen many Aboriginals or Pygmies, and I have no idea what the average Samoan looks like. If I did find them generally unattractive, though, you won’t find me pointlessly sharing that. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/22 "2004-02-04T15:17:57Z")
I can only speak for myself but I can’t understand how ethnicity comes into it. Last weekend I helped a workmate setting up the sound system for an Indian classical music performance. I got talking to one of the Indian women there and she was so attractive that I’m pretty sure I came across as a gibbering idiot. I think Halle Berry would have the same effect on me. It has nothing to do with morals - it’s human nature. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/23 "2004-02-04T15:38:05Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > Of course, because racism is supposed to be a bad thing, and you’re perfect, so you can’t be racist. Actually, your definition of racism is so ridculously narrow that it has no meaning. Can anyone be racist these days, according to you? If you value certain races above others in terms of sexual attractiveness, you are racist. If that means you have a flaw, so what? You’re not perfect, you’re going to have flaws. You can either accept that on some level, you’re a racist, or try to change it by understanding why you have these preferences if you think that not being a racist is worth doing so. I know were all familiar with the truisim “nobody’s perfect”, but it seems we keep forgetting that we’re included in “nobody”. It’s pathetic (and so transparent) to rationalize every single one of our thoughts and behaviors so that we always come out on top. Actually yes, I thought racism was supposed to be a bad thing. But since you now had a definition that includes Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Britney Spears and my uncle Bob, I guess it can’t be all that bad. Now where did I write I was perfect? Not that it isn’t true, mind you – I just can’t seem to find where I wrote that? Perhaps if I look closer… Actually you’ll notice I have not given a definition so I can’t see how you can comment on my definition. When a definition is too broad to lose all meaning of course has no final answer. However, as a general rule of thumb, I’d say a definition of racism that includes the whole of humanity is a bit wide. So I’m a racist. You’re a racist. We’re all racists. How’s that good for anything? Presumably you can now explain to me whether this is worse than your misandry (for preferring to have sex with females), paedoephobic (for not being paedophilic), geatricphobic (for not finding 100 year old’s sexually attractive), hatred for dwarves (for preferring sexual partners above 1.10m), hatred for the obese (for preferring partners under 220 kilos), etc, etc. **pizzabrat** : ”[…]though, you won’t find me pointlessly sharing that” So you’re a closed racist? Is that your point? - Rune ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/24 "2004-02-04T16:23:58Z")
> [@](#): > > _WinstonSmith_ > Actually yes, I thought racism was supposed to be a bad thing. But since you now had a definition that includes Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Britney Spears and my uncle Bob, I guess it can’t be all that bad. But even your narrow definition of racism includes almost all of humanity in the past at a certain cut-off point of, say, 1960. Most people were (and are) racist; insert Pope cliche (and when have Mother Theresa, MLK, or Britney Spears ever publically shared their sexual prefences?). > [@](#): > > Now where did I write I was perfect? Not that it isn’t true, mind you – I just can’t seem to find where I wrote that? Perhaps if I look closer… That was sort of an omni-post to people who feel the need to rationalize their sexual racism just because they practice it. > [@](#): > > Actually you’ll notice I have not given a definition so I can’t see how you can comment on my definition. Your post implied that one had to “hate” a race to be racist, rather than just perceive infieriority. > [@](#): > > When a definition is too broad to lose all meaning of course has no final answer. However, as a general rule of thumb, I’d say a definition of racism that includes the whole of humanity is a bit wide. So I’m a racist. You’re a racist. We’re all racists. How’s that good for anything? I don’t know what you mean by “How’s that good for anything?”. Are you asking what’s the point of having a word when it applies to everyone, and is thus meaningless? First of all, there’s no reason to have a dichotomy of racist (evil)/ not racist (good). If you don’t think being racial discrimination in sex is as big a deal as racial discrimination in employment, then don’t worry about it (I personally thing the former is the bigger deal, as intamacy between people is an end, while employment is just a means to an end). Second, believe it or not, but there are plenty of people who don’t have a “hiearchy of races” to which they are attracted. Third, there’s the possibility that in the future, most people won’t include race as a sexual preference, as all forms of racism become less acceptable and automatic. > [@](#): > > Presumably you can now explain to me whether this is worse than your misandry (for preferring to have sex with females), paedoephobic (for not being paedophilic), geatricphobic (for not finding 100 year old’s sexually attractive), hatred for dwarves (for preferring sexual partners above 1.10m), hatred for the obese (for preferring partners under 220 kilos), etc, etc. Why should I explain anything? I never said I was perfect, nor have I tried to rationalize my preferences. > [@](#): > > pizzabrat: ”[…]though, you won’t find me pointlessly sharing that” > So you’re a closed racist? Is that your point? If I was, would there be any point in me sharing that, especially when I never come into contact with Aboriginals, Somoans, and Pygmies in any way? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/25 "2004-02-04T16:27:12Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > Doesn’t believing one race to be more beautiful, or worth romantic involvement, fit that definition? No one is saying quite that. Acknowledgement of personal sexual attraction to a given race != belief that race X is more beautiful than race Y. Another way to look at it: beauty is only a part of the gestalt of sexual attraction. > [@pizzabrat](#): > > I’m not on a high horse. I know I have flaws, I just haven’t volunteered to air them. I haven’t seen many Aboriginals or Pygmies, and I have no idea what the average Samoan looks like. If I did find them generally unattractive, though, you won’t find me pointlessly sharing that. Why not share? That’s what this thread is here for. In context, such sharing should be considered OK. Surely, this topic isn’t so sensitive that it can’t ever be discussed. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/26 "2004-02-04T16:38:39Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > Your post implied that one had to “hate” a race to be racist, rather than just perceive infieriority. Not being attracted to a given race is not a perception of inferiority, IMHO. … Having said that, I agree with **monstro’s** last paragraph above. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/27 "2004-02-04T16:49:27Z")
**Pizzabrat** I find it remarkably generous of you to be willing to share your opinion that **Winston** , myself and many others are racist, but be unwilling to share your own feelings on the topic. I may be a one-trick pony on this issue (harkening back to a long discussion with the late **TVAA** on the subject), but I consider a charge of racism as something to be taken seriously. Your dilution of the meaning does no one any good. Do you honestly believe that there is anyone who finds members of all races and ethnicities equally attractive? Is this a beauty within type of thing? Once you get to know people does their appearance no longer matter to you? You seem to be stuck on the idea of inferiority as the reason one might not be sexually attracted to someone. I don’t think that has anything to do with it. I am not attracted to Asian women. I would assume this comes from a very complex set of cultural and biological characteristics that shaped my life. I would go so far as to say that the mechanics of sexual attraction is one of the great mysteries of biology. > [@](#): > > Surely, this topic isn’t so sensitive that it can’t ever be discussed. Apparently it is. I knew someone would come in on a high horse during this discussion. **Pizzabrat** just filled a pre-assigned role. I honestly find it funny that one could think that having the feelings and not sharing them with others makes you better than having the feelings and admitting them. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/28 "2004-02-04T16:52:15Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > I want to ask th Dopers a moral question, that really I cannot answer on my own. > > Is it wrong to find only people of your own ethnic group sexually attractive? I would say no, because 1. Sexual attraction is to a large extent not a conscious choice. 2. Even if it were, sexual attraction is a self-defining preference. If a person of given race X is unattractive to you, they just are. Discriminating against Race X for, say, a particular job is wrong, because race doesn’t matter in any meaningful way for 99.99% of jobs. Hoever, where race DOES matter, it is legitimate to discriminate. For instance, is is perfectly correct, and is quite legal, to discriminate against a white actor if you are a Hollywood producer hiring someone to play Frederick Douglass. Every court on earth would agree that to convincingly portray Frederick Douglass it would be reasonable to only consider actors who appear to be black. It is obviously legal and ethical to only consider Catholics when admitting candidates for the Holy Orders. An interesting comparison: it is legal, and correct, to deny a Sikh man the right to wear a turban on the job if the job requires wearing safety headgear that a turban would make impossible (Ontario Hydro won just such a court case some years back.) However, the same courts held that it was not legal for the RCMP to discriminate against Sikhs by forcing them to doff their turbans in favour of RCMP hats. The court’s reasoning, which seems logical to me, is that a hardhat, being a critical, life or death safety issue, is a necessity; a purely ceremonial headgear is not. (It did not help the RCMP’s case that British/Canadian uniform tradition includes turbans, too. In fact, the Armed Forces uniform regs have diagrams on how to properly wear a turban in uniform.) In terms of selecting a mate, physical attractiveness IS one of the critical qualifiers. If someone is not attractive to you it’s a bona fide reason to discriminate against them for that particular purpose. > [@](#): > > I feel that it is wrong to want your child to marry someone of the same ethnical group as your own, but have never considered what it would mean if someone only found members of their own ethnic group to be sexually attractive. While I also feel it’s **usually** wrong to want your child to marry someone of the same “ethnic group,” I would suggest this is not as clear cut as you suggest. We automatically default to “white parent hates black fiancee” in our mind’s eye when the issue comes up - I know I do - but we’ve had perfectly smart, reasonable Dopers express the wish that their kids marry other Jews. There are reasons for that other than sheer racism or bigotry. And even where it is just racism, I don’t think it’s quite the same as, say, denying someone a job based on their race. I grant people some latitude when it comes to their kids. And there’s a wide range of possible reactions - from being privately a little disappointed your kid might not have your son’s blue eyes when he gets engaged to a black girl, which isn’t a big deal, to telling him “I have no son! Begone!”, which is. > [@](#): > > Clearly sexual attraction is so complex and personal that someone could be attracted to any subset of people the choose (or is chosen for them by their psychological mind-set), but the idea of only going out with members of your own race seems very close to racism… IT IS RACISM. The question is whether or not it’s WRONG. The actor-to-play-Frederick Douglass example is also an act of racism; you are discriminating against white and Asian actors on the presumption that black men are inherently better suited, by sole virtue of their race, to portraying Frederick Douglass in a realistic motion picture. It would be equally ludicrous to have Douglass played by a woman - since he was a man - or by someone who is a deaf-mute or has a bad speech impediment, since Douglass was reknowned for his amazing oratorical skills. Discriminating against whites, women, and deaf-mutes in this case IS discrimination. But in that particular case, it’s quite justified discrimination. ---
**Author:** ![Voodoochile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/898d66/32.png) [@Voodoochile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voodoochile)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/29 "2004-02-04T17:03:07Z")
Morality has nothing to do with it; its biology. Sexual attraction is biological, not moral. Jeez, there are religous nuts who want to try to get people to feel guilt for who they are biologicaly attracted to, now there are nuts on the other side of the spectrum trying to do the opposite. Its ~biological~. And yes, as we grow older, our biology changes, and so our sexuality, among many other things, changes as well. From a male perspective, if a very sexy black woman hits on you, but you just arent attracted to her, you arent ‘racist’. Nothing to feel guilty about. If a very sexy black woman hits on you, and you pop a boner but try to hide it or pretend it isnt there and so dont respond to her simply because she is black, then you could be said to be a racist yes. But the question was about sexual attraction, not whether or not you act on it; and the proof of sexual attraction is in the boner. And boners have minds of their own, driven by biology, not morality. Theres no more reason to feel moral qualms about who you arent attracted to any more than there is about who you are attracted to, as it really isnt up to you. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/30 "2004-02-04T17:38:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*fruitbat \* > I honestly find it funny that one could think that having the feelings and not sharing them with others makes you better than having the feelings and admitting them. First, I already said I have nothing to share. I’m so unfamiliar with Aboriginals, Pygmies, and Somoans that I have no opinion on their looks. I only asked if I hypothetically did have a negative opinion, what would be the point of me sharing. Can you tell me what the point would be? ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/31 "2004-02-04T17:56:09Z")
> [@](#): > > _Voodoochile_ > Theres no more reason to feel moral qualms about who you arent attracted to any more than there is about who you are attracted to, as it really isnt up to you. It may not be soley up to you, but it’s not arbitrarily biological. Only base, general aspects such as sex, size, & age are biological, the rest is social, and you can deprogram social prejudice if you think it’s worth it. Do you think a person can be biologically oriented to blonde hair, even if he’s never seen blonde hair in his life? Do think an attraction to necks extended by gradual placement of rings is cultivated by some random brain chemicals in the womb. Do you think the entire nation’s biology changed so drastically decade by decade so that dramatic fashions like shapeless dresses in the 20’s and high-top fades in the early 90’s go from intoxicating to ridiculous? ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/32 "2004-02-04T18:07:55Z")
**PizzaBrat** , I think you need to get a grip. Very few issues are as black and white as you’re making this one, and this one is _less_ so than most! I find darker-haired, eyed, complected folks more attractive than blonde, really light folks. Does this make me a bigot against blondes? I sure hope not, as I am EXTREMELY blonde myself - Hitler could have used me as his poster child! (appearance wise, that is) There are a myriad of physical, social, and personal emotional factors that go in to sexual attraction, and most of them have nothing to do with evaluating people as superior or inferior. As has been pointed out already, many slave-holders really enjoyed sex with their slaves; I think it’s safe to assume they were fairly racist. But I wanted to move on to the other issue **Bippy** raised: is it racist to prefer your child to marry someone of your own race. Thus far, agreement has been total that, yes, it is. I beg to differ. I have no children, so I can only speculate, but if I had them, I would prefer to see them have fairly easy, comfortable lives. So if I had my druthers, I’d rather they be straight, rather they marry (if at all) someone whose presence would not cause some assholes to try to make their lives miserable, would rather they were good at school and went on to college and a comfortable living, lots of stuff like that! Does it mean that I would reject them for violating any of these preferences, or reject their partners if they were of another race or the same sex or had purple and green hair or whatever? Of course not! (Well, maybe the purple and green hair! 😃 ) But anyone who wants their kids’ lives to be easier would surely prefer a same race, different sex marriage for them! If it makes me racist or homophobic to recognize that gay people or people in mixed marriages often have harder lives than those who are straight and don’t have mixed marriages, then I guess I’m racist and/or homophobic. **Pizzabrat** will likely think so. Personally, I don’t think it’s racist to recognize societal reality. I don’t have to like it, and I don’t. But if I had kids, I think I’d _rather_ they didn’t have to deal with those problems. As if I’d have any control anyway! ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/33 "2004-02-04T18:39:52Z")
> [@](#): > > _AvhHines_ > PizzaBrat, I think you need to get a grip. Very few issues are as black and white as you’re making this one, and this one is less so than most! I’m the only one not making it a black and white issue (well, Rickjay too)! I’m being realistic regaurding the definition of racism, but I purposfully avoided any value judgements. I personally have strong opinions against all forms of racism, but I didn’t bring those opinions into this argument. I specifically said “Both are wrong **only if you view racism as a bad thing**.” > [@](#): > > If it makes me racist or homophobic to recognize that gay people or people in mixed marriages often have harder lives than those who are straight and don’t have mixed marriages, then I guess I’m racist and/or homophobic. No, it just makes you ignorant, and one-sided. Nobody chooses a harder life. Whenever someone makes a choice, it’s because he believes the benifits outweigh the sacrifices. If somebody chooses to marry interracially, it’s because he believes he’s better off marrying his spouse than not, despite the hardships a third person like you may observe them encountering. Can’t really say the same about being gay, though, for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/34 "2004-02-04T19:00:46Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > “…and I’ll list it for some reason!” Wow, sorry I offended you by involving myself in the discussion. You know, it’s pretty amazing what will set some people off.:rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Anyway, though you may not be explicitly aware of why you have a racial heirarchy in sexual attraction, that doesn’t mean that your brain has arbitrarily fixated you to certain races. A little self-exploration may reveal some logical reason or causes for your preferences. Perhaps you’ve always been the type of person who is bored by what’s familiar and enamoured by what’s foreign, and that naturally carried over to your sexual attraction (just a wild guess from looking soley at your heiarchy). Yes, I’m attracted to women who look different than me (I am white). I suspect that it’s biological - diversity in the gene pool is healthy. That much is obvious. But such things are far more complex than a simple logical formula. If it were a simple proportional relationship wherein I’m more attracted to women who are more different than me, then I would be _most_ attracted to black women; but I am not. (Ooh, I mentioned my preferences again - try not to get too bent out of shape, o.k.?) Of course there are reasons; there are reasons for _everything_. However, the reasons are much too complex to describe as “logical”. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/35 "2004-02-04T19:30:05Z")
I don’t find many members of my own race attractive (East Indian), does that make me racist? And I know my own psychological motivations in this case. No woman in my family is happily married to her East Indian husband, none can divorce, and many of the ones I have met are at least marginally sexist. My first serious relationship was with an East Indian and he was no expception. My father was no exception. I can get along with them as friends, but when I look at an East Indian guy, I rarely think “he’s sexy”, but feel a definite feeling of aversion. There are many many reasons why we do or don’t find people attractive. If one doesn’t find a particular race attractive, it could be because they’re racist. Or it might just possibly be they have some other reason. I think the label racist is jumping to conclusions to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/36 "2004-02-04T19:31:31Z")
"and he was no expception. " “expception”?!? Oh aargh. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/37 "2004-02-04T19:35:14Z")
> [@](#): > > _blowero_ > Yes, I’m attracted to women who look different than me (I am white). I suspect that it’s biological - diversity in the gene pool is healthy. That much is obvious. But such things are far more complex than a simple logical formula. If it were a simple proportional relationship wherein I’m more attracted to women who are more different than me, then I would be most attracted to black women; but I am not. (Ooh, I mentioned my preferences again - try not to get too bent out of shape, o.k.?) That’s why I didn’t say anything about looking like you, I theorized it had to do with level of familiarity. The average American of any race would be familiar with blacks, and contemptably so. ---
**Author:** ![thermalribbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@thermalribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thermalribbon)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/38 "2004-02-04T19:37:52Z")
I pretty much wanna fuck 'em all. I just felt like saying that ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/39 "2004-02-04T19:46:49Z")
Why so contentious, pizza? Do you enjoy negative attention? > [@pizzabrat](#): > > Doesn’t believing one race to be more beautiful, or worth romantic involvement, fit that definition? Strawman. We are talking about _attraction_. It is quite possible to believe a person is beautiful, yet not be sexually attracted to that person. It is also quite possible to believe a person is beautiful and at the same time _not_ worth romantic involvement, or even _not_ beautiful and _worth_ romantic involvement. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406/40 "2004-02-04T19:50:27Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > The average American of any race would be familiar with blacks, and contemptably so. What does this have to do with anything? See the examples given above of slave holders routinely engaging in relations with slaves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/race-and-sexual-attraction/227406.md?page=3)