You might not consider yourself racist, but if you’ve ever uttered something along lines “I’m just not into black guys” you might be suffering some structural racism.
Just because we are a marginalised demographic, doesn’t mean we don’t also further marginalise other people within our own community.
Let us explain… or in fact let Dylan Marron explain something to you.
In a video posted on the MTV Decoded Facebook page, Marron spells out that perhaps your “preference” of not wanting to go out with an Asian/Black/Mixed race guy could be a product of structural racism – because, in the Western world, we’ve all been brought up to believe that white/blonde/blue-eyed/twink/hairless (etc etc etc) is the beauty standard.
He explains,
“We actually learn how to define what is attractive from those around us. And because we’re raised within a framework of Western beauty standards, society often characterises non-white features as ‘different’ or ‘unattractive.’”
And if you’re wondering if why this happens, he explains,
“This is where structural racism comes into play. Because preferences are actually shaped by learned values. When you’re judging a person based solely on their racial background, you’re acting on generalisations you’ve learned to associate with that person’s appearance or heritage. You can’t say it’s their personality because you shut them down before you even got to know them.”
WATCH BELOW
