Black men and women have not shared the same experiences with regard to intimate
relations with whites. Slavery provided a mechanism through which white men had unbridled
access to black women’s bodies (Kennedy 2003). In contrast, Black men who were suspected of
intimate relations with white women were brutally killed. This legacy has shaped the contours of
contemporary intimate relations between blacks and whites. Cultural portrayals of Black
Americans also influence the perceptions and attitudes held by society about who is desirable
and who is not. Much of the contemporary imagery of Black women consists of the mammy, the
whore, or the tragic mulatto (Jewell 1993:37-47; Anderson 1997:9-118).
Black women are rarely portrayed as attractive, and their sexuality is often coupled with lewd acts or promiscuity.
These stereotypical images are not limited to physical attributes, but also include negative
personality traits, values, and characteristics, such as being domineering or bossy (Bordo 1993;
Perkins and Uno 1996). Black womanhood is often constructed as the antithesis of white
femininity (Collins 2005).
Unlike black women, Latinas and Asian women are thought to embody an idealized
femininity that is at once exotic and sexual as well as chaste and virginal (Berg 2002). Asian and
Latina women have been defined as “the embodiment of perfect womanhood and exotic
femininity” (Espiritu 1997: 113; Arrizon and Manzor 2000). Schaeffer-Grabiel (2004) argues that these stereotypical traits are desirable to white men, many of whom “are looking for a
traditional wife and family relationship they nostalgically think existed during the 1950s…”.
Based on this literature, we expect to find that white men are more likely to prefer to date Asian
and Latina women than black women.
The cultural portrayals of black men differ from that of black women. In general, the
images of black men in the media include a variety of criminals, as well as comedic sidekicks;
yet there are also more positive images as athletes, clergy, and political leaders. While women’s
femininity is heavily defined by physical attributes, masculinity rests on other attributes as well,
including the acquisition of wealth, status and power (Kalmijn 1993; Stewart, Stinnett and
Rosenfeld 2000). However, while physical traits matter more in the selection of potential female
mates than male mates (Hitsch et al 2006), men’s physical attributes are not unimportant.
Images of Asian American men as asexual and lacking masculinity are pervasive (Kim
1986; Espiritu 1997; Fong 1998:192; Chen 1999). As Fong notes, “Despite a few notable
exceptions, Asian men have most often been depicted as strangely asexual characters. Asian
women, in contrast, have often been depicted as almost completely sexual (192).” In her study
of sexual stereotypes in the media, Kim (1986) makes a similar observation.
relations with whites. Slavery provided a mechanism through which white men had unbridled
access to black women’s bodies (Kennedy 2003). In contrast, Black men who were suspected of
intimate relations with white women were brutally killed. This legacy has shaped the contours of
contemporary intimate relations between blacks and whites. Cultural portrayals of Black
Americans also influence the perceptions and attitudes held by society about who is desirable
and who is not. Much of the contemporary imagery of Black women consists of the mammy, the
whore, or the tragic mulatto (Jewell 1993:37-47; Anderson 1997:9-118).
Black women are rarely portrayed as attractive, and their sexuality is often coupled with lewd acts or promiscuity.
These stereotypical images are not limited to physical attributes, but also include negative
personality traits, values, and characteristics, such as being domineering or bossy (Bordo 1993;
Perkins and Uno 1996). Black womanhood is often constructed as the antithesis of white
femininity (Collins 2005).
Unlike black women, Latinas and Asian women are thought to embody an idealized
femininity that is at once exotic and sexual as well as chaste and virginal (Berg 2002). Asian and
Latina women have been defined as “the embodiment of perfect womanhood and exotic
femininity” (Espiritu 1997: 113; Arrizon and Manzor 2000). Schaeffer-Grabiel (2004) argues that these stereotypical traits are desirable to white men, many of whom “are looking for a
traditional wife and family relationship they nostalgically think existed during the 1950s…”.
Based on this literature, we expect to find that white men are more likely to prefer to date Asian
and Latina women than black women.
The cultural portrayals of black men differ from that of black women. In general, the
images of black men in the media include a variety of criminals, as well as comedic sidekicks;
yet there are also more positive images as athletes, clergy, and political leaders. While women’s
femininity is heavily defined by physical attributes, masculinity rests on other attributes as well,
including the acquisition of wealth, status and power (Kalmijn 1993; Stewart, Stinnett and
Rosenfeld 2000). However, while physical traits matter more in the selection of potential female
mates than male mates (Hitsch et al 2006), men’s physical attributes are not unimportant.
Images of Asian American men as asexual and lacking masculinity are pervasive (Kim
1986; Espiritu 1997; Fong 1998:192; Chen 1999). As Fong notes, “Despite a few notable
exceptions, Asian men have most often been depicted as strangely asexual characters. Asian
women, in contrast, have often been depicted as almost completely sexual (192).” In her study
of sexual stereotypes in the media, Kim (1986) makes a similar observation.
選擇“Disable on www.wenxuecity.com”
選擇“don't run on pages on this domain”
