Is racism louder than homophobia, even in the gay community? I happen to know a lot of gay interracial couples who have expressed concern about discrimination. A common concern most of them shared didn’t have anything to do with being gay, but more to do with the color of their skin.
According to a 2010 U.S. Census data report, 20.6% of gay couples were interracial or inter-ethnic. That’s more than one in five couples. The same report also revealed an unbalanced number in comparison to straight couples: 9.5 % of straight interracial couples were married, while 18.3% were unmarried. The most interesting discovery, however, is that 20.6% of interracial gay couples were more likely to be raising children than all variations of gay couples across the board.
It’s evident that same-sex interracial families have clear obstacles they must face – homophobia and racism. Experiences are always different of course, depending on what area of the country you are, some couples say. Certain parts of the United States hold more racist opinions than other, more tolerant, areas.
But in most cases, the interracial couples I’ve spoken with said there is little to no issue when it comes to their circle of friends. However, when they decide to go out (even in gay places), they’re stared at and are often asked questions, usually sexual in nature.
One couple I’ve spoken to is an Asian man and an African American man who claim they are constantly categorized or pigeonholed into a porn-related “fetish” kind of view. Because he was dating an Asian man, the African American man would get teased by some of his friends who said he was fulfilling a fantasy by dating an Asian (they’ve been dating for 2 years).
However, the teasing worked both ways. The Asian man would hear similar jokes from other people as well. None o the jokes were seemingly racist, but were based on stereotypes about all Asians being bottoms or African Americans having big penises.
Starting a family is difficult for any gay couple, but racism and stigmatization will always be an extra burden for interracial couple. Despite the fact that there are many stories of discrimination, there are also stories of little to none. I’ve seen interracial gay couples go about their lives like any other relationship, with no interference from society nor their family or friends. However, for the majority, this isn’t the case. Do you think there is ever going to be a time when we can stop looking at gender, race, or creed and focus on love?
It’s been nearly 50 years since the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on interracial marriage. Even though the Supreme Court has recently made two landmark rulings for gay marriage, there are still many parts of America that are intolerant to such things. Is fear and misunderstanding still holding us back, even after all these years?