To: Rebecca Agosta From: Allysea Thompson Date: 12 February 2014 Subject of Inquiry:

I'm interested in finding out the unique challenges black women/white male couples experience that differ from same-race couples.

Initial Inquiry Subject:

I am interested in researching and finding out about the unique challenges black women and white male couples face. Many people can remember a time when they saw a black male/ white woman couple but unfortunately not the other way around. In society, it seems socially acceptable for a black male and a white woman to be together but not vice versa. I don't think that it's intentional but socially, black women and white men are displayed to be total opposites. Black women are displayed as aggressive, promiscuous with their bodies and reckless by the media. White men are displayed as goal-oriented, good looking, and wealthy. These two groups seem like polar opposites and less likely to meet then the black men/ white women population. This topic relates to me because I am a black woman who finds white men attractive, but I have not been in a relationship with one. I do; however, see myself being in interracial relationships. Interracial relationships between black women and white men is not a topic that can really be explained or statistically proved and thus is a more opinion-based inquiry.

Methods: (Paper Format: Culture, Media, Interview)

I will be taking a deep look into the ruthless truth about how both black females are looked at in society by taking a glimpse back in time to slavery. The slave masters, who did rape, were attracted to the position of power they had against the slaves. In order to keep the slaves subjected, they needed to keep slaves in oppressive conditions. They like having their full idea of what a woman should be like at their disposal: subservient, hardworking, and unquestioning. You'd be amazed at how THAT is more attractive to some men than any amount of actual beauty. So rape was one of the tools to keep women and children down. Some slave women, called fancy girls, mostly light-skinned, were sold to work in the household with the understanding that they would provide special services. I am going to view interracial couple 'Girlfriend Boyfriend Tags'. These videos are on YouTube and they involve a couple sitting down and answering questions related to how they got together, what they were first thinking when they met, and the challenges they face.

I plan on looking at interviews of famous interracial couples like Tamera Mowry-Housley and Adam Housley. They have recently been in the spotlight because of the scrutiny and discrimination they are getting from the public for being an interracial couple. I also would really like to talk one-on-one with a BWWM couple to get a personal one-on-one testimony that what I've seen online and read about is really true. Blogs- Ices Ten Reasons Black Guys Prefer White Girls (Ice T is a celebrity black man who is married to a white woman) Counter blog: Ten Reasons Black Women Prefer White Men 12 Common Stereotypes About Black Women & white men relationships- written by Brody fletcher I plan on interviewing a girl in my learning community named Jessica (who is white) and she dates a black guy. I want to ask her: When did her and her boyfriend get together? What attracts her to him? How did her parents/family feel about her dating a black guy? Has she dated white guys before? Is there a difference? Common Sterotypes:

Black Women
Ratchet. Gold Diggers. Uneducated sisters. Angry Mean. Unhealthy. Baby mamas.

White Men
Goal-oriented. Goodlooking. Rich.

Questions:
1. What makes someone interested in something so different than themselves? Or do they see it that way? 2. What is the history behind interracial dating? When did interracial dating become legal? 3. How do people react when they see an interracial couple? Do they disapprove? 4. How does society portray these relationships in television shows or movies?

5. Do family members add challenges faced by interracial couples? 6. Are interracial couples aware of their race/ racial expectations/ stereotypes when together? 7. Are interracial couples typically attracted to a person of that race? 8. Are their actions, words, items that perform their race within the relationship? 9. When you marry interracially are you marrying up or down? 10. How does gender affect perception? Black man vs. Black woman? White women vs. white man?