Although people might think it is complimentary to fetishize or prefer a particular race, race fetishization is often a damaging practice that can be dehumanizing.
What’s your type? Some people prefer partners with blonde hair, others prefer when their partner has an athletic figure or is a certain height. But what happens when people only seek to date a certain race or preference it above other races? It is problematic to declare in your Tinder bio that you will only date Latina women or tell all of your friends that you want to marry a Black man and have mixed-race children? Are you merely expressing an attraction to a group of people, or are you fetishizing a race with potentially serious consequences?
What Is Race Fetishization?
Racism is sometimes obvious, such as hate speech, racial slurs, acts of violence, and overt discrimination. However, it can also be far more subtle, sometimes to the point that people don’t even realize how their actions and views are offensive to a group of people. Race fetishization occurs when a race is made to be the object of one’s sexual desire. The key word here is object, as fetishizing reduces a person to an object in the eyes of the person doing the fetishizing.
As senior contributor Janice Gassam Asare writes in her Forbes article on the subject, this desire occurs due to an aspect of the person’s identity. People become lustful of a preconceived aspect of a particular race and seek it out in their romantic partners. Therefore, it’s already easy to reinforce stereotypes by fetishizing a race, such as one declaring their preference for Asian women due to stereotypes they have witnessed in the media. It’s also pretty likely that the person who fetishizes someone has clear expectations for how they want their Asian wife to behave, as they are seeking their partner based solely on race.
Is Race Fetishization Another Cancel Culture Term?
On one hand, it’s easy to see how people who fetishize races can dismiss concerns about their actions and beliefs. They are likely quick to deny that they are enforcing harmful stereotypes or expressing racism, as they are declaring their interest in the exact group of people that they are reinforcing stereotypes about. However, it’s possible to dehumanize someone that you think you are uplifting. And race fetishizing isn’t uplifting people or celebrating them. It is reducing an individual to racial stereotypes and viewing them as an object of desire. Nothing is empowering about objectifying someone against their will.
Why Is It Harmful To Fetishize Races?
Gassam Asare cites one research study that explores how Black bodies have been fetishized throughout history, starting with the eroticization of Black bodies by European colonizers when they entered the New World. Europeans would invade different African countries and develop a fascination and fetish with African women that was dehumanizing and made it easier for colonizers to justify their abuse and subsequent enslavement of Black people. While Black people have had their bodies sexualized since the start of modern civilization, these stereotypes still echo in modern-day views that some people carry.
It’s important to note that race fetishization isn’t just occurring when, for example, a white person declares they will only date Black people and fetishizes their skin color. It can also happen within ethnic groups and races due to a variety of factors that have been deemed more favorable, such as skin hue. Overall, the main issue with fetishization is that it is reductive. It strips a person of their individuality and demands that they meet a limited stereotyping of their race or ethnicity for the sexual gratification of their partner. It is a biased way of thinking that is more problematic than merely having sexual preferences.
Are You Fetishizing Race?
When it comes to race fetishization, like many topics, education is always a better solution than anger. People are ready to claim their internet pitchforks and launch a digital attack on people they deem offensive. Gassam Asare’s article helped me to understand the elements of race fetishization that make me feel so uncomfortable. When I see white women online sharing about how they want to make “mixed” children with Black men for the sole purpose of having “brown” babies, I wonder how I am supposed to explain what a disservice they are doing to both their future partner and offspring. Luckily, you can change the way you think with mindfulness and education. And you can try to pass that education on to other people.
How often do we attribute characteristics to someone because of the color of their skin? How often do we make assumptions about people due to their race or ethnicity? Fetishizing leads to objectifying. Nobody wants to end up in a relationship only to discover that their partner picked them due to their skin color and now they are expected to act like a preconceived notion their partner has of their race or ethnicity. Therefore, if you only seek partners based on race or ethnicity, it’s time to have an honest look at yourself and your expectations.
Continued Reading: Combatting Casual Racism