# What's up with black people, dating, and marriage in adulthood? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 9, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126 "2007-10-09T18:37:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/181 "2007-10-11T04:48:04Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] No it’s not meaningless. The fact that one ethnic group has an “out-of-wedlock” birth rate that is so much higher than other ethnic groups raises interesting questions about why. Is it a cultural thing? Is it related to education or income level? It’s very relevant. [Percentage of Births to Women Under Age 30 That Were Out of Wedlock, by Race/Ethnicity of Mother, United States: 2003-2004](http://www.ets.org/Media/Education_Topics/pdf/AmericasPerfectStorm.pdf#page=34) Black - 76.5 Mixed Race - 60.0 Hispanic - 46.1 White - 33.8 Asian - 16.3 [/QUOTE] Hmmm, interesting. Clearly I am hanging around the wrong black and the wrong white people because the statistics from my hometown would be completely different. Seriously though, I have trouble assigning a race label to statistics such as these. It seems like a stretch to ascribe the given events to ethnicity. Which is why it is important that **nyctea scandiaca** raises questions about income and education levels as well. Otherwise it would seem as ridiculous as someone saying that suicide is part of the racial identity of whites due to their overwhelming rate of success. Oh right, this is the Pit. So the OP asked a dumbass question but since his goal is enlightenment I think a rewording is in order. He should probably talk to more black folks cause this is really the first time I have heard this angle from a guy. Usually it comes from black women. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/182 "2007-10-11T05:49:56Z")
[QUOTE=Frosted Glass] Hmmm, interesting. Clearly I am hanging around the wrong black and the wrong white people because the statistics from my hometown would be completely different. Seriously though, I have trouble assigning a race label to statistics such as these. It seems like a stretch to ascribe the given events to ethnicity. Which is why it is important that **nyctea scandiaca** raises questions about income and education levels as well. Otherwise it would seem as ridiculous as someone saying that suicide is part of the racial identity of whites due to their overwhelming rate of success. [/QUOTE] That report had good stats on race & education too. So clearly, the more educated you are, the less likely you are to have kids without being married. (Draw your own conclusions…) Percentage of Births to Women Under Age 30 That Were Out of Wedlock, by Educational Attainment and Race/Ethnicity of the Mother, United States: 2003-2004 Educational Attainment-------Black-------White-------Hispanic \<12 or 12, no diploma-------89.9--------60.7--------50.0 12 years, diploma or GED-----------80.0--------42.1--------48.6 13 to 15 years------------69.1--------28.0--------38.6 Bachelor’s degree-----------41.0--------8.0---------28.0 Master’s degree-----------11.3--------3.3---------15.3 From here: [http://www.ets.org/Media/Education\_Topics/pdf/AmericasPerfectStorm.pdf#page=33](http://www.ets.org/Media/Education_Topics/pdf/AmericasPerfectStorm.pdf#page=33) ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/183 "2007-10-11T05:54:36Z")
If I just may say… looking over my last post, those stats are sad and disturbing. 90% of babies born to black women with no high school diploma are out-of-wedlock?! Wow. But compare this to 60% for whites, and 50% for hispanics. I think there is clearly some sort of cultural element. (“Baby Daddy” is a pop reference coming out of black culture, isn’t it?) ---
**Author:** ![Li\_l\_Pluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee59a6/32.png) [@Li\_l\_Pluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Li_l_Pluck)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/184 "2007-10-11T08:48:09Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] (“Baby Daddy” is a pop reference coming out of black culture, isn’t it?) [/QUOTE] Okay, but \*which \* black culture? ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/185 "2007-10-11T12:06:53Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I can’t believe no one has asked whether their turds are white. [/QUOTE] That would make sense if they don’t drink any coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/186 "2007-10-11T12:18:42Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] If I just may say… looking over my last post, those stats are sad and disturbing. 90% of babies born to black women with no high school diploma are out-of-wedlock?! Wow. But compare this to 60% for whites, and 50% for hispanics. I think there is clearly some sort of cultural element. (“Baby Daddy” is a pop reference coming out of black culture, isn’t it?) [/QUOTE] Some cultures may consider children raised ‘in wedlock’ of more importance than ending a family unit even when it would clearly benefit from a seperation, divorce, or avoiding marrying the scum who knocked you up in the first place. It is a shame if some silly stigma is causing some women in some cultures to start or stay in marriages with partners that are not good for the woman or the children. “Diddling your daughters” is a pop reference coming out of white culture, isn’t it? I honestly don’t say that to be an ignorant idiot. I say it to raise the point that we sink into ridiculousness if we start painting the whole of black culture with the brush we use to paint the most ignorant and uneducated part of us..(those that would use the term ‘baby daddy’. It is true that the ‘having children out of wedlock’ issue is one that is more frequent with black people than it is with other groups in our society…but it is not really relevent to what VC03’s co-worker was discussing. The real truth is that there are legion beautiful, black, educated, single women out there. If he is bringing enough to the table to hook one, in terms of education and _character_, he will find one. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/187 "2007-10-11T12:43:02Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] That would make sense if they don’t drink any coffee. [/QUOTE] I think we can conclude they drink milk. … I’m not sure how to explain why Indian turds are cyan, however. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/188 "2007-10-11T12:47:01Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I think we can conclude they drink milk. … I’m not sure how to explain why Indian turds are cyan, however. [/QUOTE] My ink cartridges are made in China, so I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/189 "2007-10-11T12:48:13Z")
[QUOTE=jali] I’m so upset with the OP since October is MY month to be the Black Spokesmodel for the people. How dare he ask some random co-worker a question that should have been directed to me. I have the official handbook of my people and since I know all of them, I’m in the position to discuss why we do anything - well at least until November 1st. [/QUOTE] The SDMB Wine Club keeps a list of whose turn it is to pick wine. I think the SDMB Black Spokesperson group needs to do the same. Its only fair that we know who is going to be speaking for all black people before we ask the question - and we can make sure that all the black folks on the board are properly identified - 'cause its so hard to tag people with the appropriate labels on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/190 "2007-10-11T13:25:53Z")
[QUOTE=Nzinga, Seated] The real truth is that there are legion beautiful, black, educated, single women out there. If he is bringing enough to the table to hook one, in terms of education and _character_, he will find one. [/QUOTE] Thank. You. I find it amusing that people in this thread are acting like the pathologies of black Americans is a rarely discussed topic and that **VCO3** is really trying to forge new ground in the area of rational discourse with his retarded OP. Black people as a group are always scrutinized. Statistics are always trotted out to remind the masses that black people are deviants from the white norm. “Why” is always fucking talked about. This topic is a million years old. It’s played out. At a certain point it becomes obvious that too many people get off on talking about how blacks measure up to everyone else. I’m amazed at how many people are acting like **VCO3’s** co-worker’s opinion has merit. There are plenty of black women that are educated, childless, and of good character. There may be a greater percent of “undesirables” in the black female population relative to the pristine and flawless white one, but that doesn’t mean that good catches who are black are nonexistent or even rare. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/191 "2007-10-11T13:33:54Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] My ink cartridges are made in China, so I don’t know. [/QUOTE] Their turds are blue, I’m pretty sure. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/192 "2007-10-11T13:47:46Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] [Quote=Omega Glory] Why do whites give their kids last names as first names? [/quote] I’d like an answer to that. Honestly, who thinks “Mackenzie” is a nice name for a little girl? Are they fucking stupid? [/QUOTE] True. Let’s not even get into Makenzie, Mickenzey, Mkenzi (hmm…sounds kinda Zulu :D)… Oh BTW…Armstrong Williams? Roosevelt Grier? Miles Davis? Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/193 "2007-10-11T14:01:19Z")
[QUOTE=Dangerosa] The SDMB Wine Club keeps a list of whose turn it is to pick wine. I think the SDMB Black Spokesperson group needs to do the same. [/QUOTE] OK, but I think you’ll end up drinking a lot of Thunderbird. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/194 "2007-10-11T16:17:07Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] OK, but I think you’ll end up drinking a lot of Thunderbird. 😛 [/QUOTE] Is that what goes well with watermelon and fried chicken? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/195 "2007-10-11T16:43:55Z")
[QUOTE=Dangerosa] Is that what goes well with watermelon and fried chicken? [/QUOTE] Ripple, biotch! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/196 "2007-10-11T16:58:14Z")
[QUOTE=pool] Maybe **VC03** is in fact Wolf Blitzer: [http://youtube.com/watch?v=qIO6eL70c7I](http://youtube.com/watch?v=qIO6eL70c7I) Is it just me or is that maybe the funniest clip ever? [/QUOTE] “They’re so poor, and so black.” I don’t even know what that means, but it had me howling. (Yes, I know, it was probably a slip of the tongue, but it’s a funny one.) ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/197 "2007-10-11T17:05:14Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] “They’re so poor, and so black.” I don’t even know what that means, but it had me howling. (Yes, I know, it was probably a slip of the tongue, but it’s a funny one.) [/QUOTE] Oh, god, I remember that one. What an embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/198 "2007-10-11T17:21:29Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] I’d like an answer to that. Honestly, who thinks “Mackenzie” is a nice name for a little girl? Are they fucking stupid? [/QUOTE] I agree entirely. I mean, for fuck’s sake, it means, “Son of the Wise Man,” in Gaellic. How the hell is that a girl’s name? On the other hand, it’s a perfectly fine name for a little boy. Has been for centuries. Ask anyone in my family. -Mackenzie H. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/199 "2007-10-11T18:08:01Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] I can’t believe no one has asked whether their turds are white. [/QUOTE] That brings up another interesting question: Why do all blacks drink barium? ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126/200 "2007-10-11T18:28:48Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] True. Let’s not even get into Makenzie, Mickenzey, Mkenzi (hmm…sounds kinda Zulu :D)… Oh BTW…Armstrong Williams? Roosevelt Grier? Miles Davis? Anyone? [/QUOTE] I think you missed the point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-black-people-dating-and-marriage-in-adulthood/422126.md?page=11)