Alison "Wonderland", San Francisco, CA 

"We can't even begin to describe how much we LOVE Alison! Her constant engagement is invaluable - she always leaves such thoughtful and provoking comments, and exposes us to differing issues and perspectives.  It's so refreshing to hear from someone that knows what she stands for...and how she likes it :)" 

Increased interracial dating serves, for some, as strong, heartwarming evidence for the existence of a post-racial world. With a significant jump in the percentage of newlywed couples in interracial marriages--from 3.2% in 1980 to about 15% in 2010--it's hard to believe that race-based restrictions on marriage were only completely invalidated in 1967.
 
Others, however, are quick to point out the race and gender imbalances behind interracial dating. My Chinese-American ex-boyfriend once pointed out an Asian woman and a white man locking hands as they left a store together in Times Square. "I'd like that more," he whispered to me as he shook his head, barely hiding his disdain for the young couple, "but you never see it the other way around.  No Asian man is considered attractive enough to be in that kind of relationship."

In my experience, most men with yellow fever tend to like Asian girls as a whole. As long as you have yellow skin, slightly slanted eyes, and a thin frame, they’re fucking sold. Some men however, have narrowed down their fetish to specific flavors of Asian: with Japanese, Korean, and Pinay being the most sought-after types. 

When I started working at my current club, I made a conscious decision to present myself as half-Japanese and half-Korean, my logic being that I’d be more “exotic" if I could claim two ethnicities as opposed to one. This of course, ended up leading to some pretty interesting conversations, ranging from the face-palmingly racist to the head-scratchingly bizarre.

The black man occupies a unique space in American culture.  He is an aggressive and inherently violent threat to society.   Both insatiable and lazy, he is creator of chaos and maker of his own inevitable demise; he is forever guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  He does not feel pain, or remorse, or empathy.  As angry and volatile as their female counterparts, black men, by their very presence, give society reason to assume the defensive.  He is simultaneously invisible and ever present in the minds and lives of white America.  A non-citizen, he holds no right to self-defense.    

Debased, filthy and unworthy, black men, we are told, are sexual deviants incapable of either desiring or maintaining healthy, meaningful relationships. 

soundless steps carried him to the belly of the campus. the thickness of groups lining the wall had comforted me so far. i felt secure in the company of folks i didn’t know, because i had faith. faith that someone, anyone would protect me from the acid that had just crept into our temporary holding place. 

carelessly he spit fire. 

“you know i fucked you in the ass. why you frontin like you don’t know me like that. i know you. come on. you were at my house last night…yeah that was you.”

Picture this: After consulting with everyone you know who owns a spatula, you prepare for your friends the best 3-course meal of sweet potato mash, steak, and spinach salad you've ever cooked in your entire life. Now imagine that, as you nervously watch people pick at your beloved culinary creations, a friend turns to you and says, "Listen, everything is great. But this salad has Italian dressing, the potatoes are from Ireland, and the wine is from Spain. This isn't an authentic representation of your unique ethnic roots."

"I just think," another friend quips, "that you're ashamed of your culture."

Fuck your tears.    

As a 5’6” male who was once told at an early age you weren't handsome enough to be an actor, I’d think you would be more in tuned with the idea of being perceived unattractive or undervalued.  But, alas, male privilege wins again.  I understand; your moment of clarity is the result of not only decades of white male privilege, but of prestige and wealth.  In a culture that systematically perpetuates the superiority of men, superficiality of women and the commodification and ownership of women’s bodies by males (while simultaneously rewarding ignorance and castigating those who attempt to shine light on injustice) – can we really be surprised at your sudden state of enlightenment?  

Reality turns to figments of imagination
lubricated through fabricated assimilation
so that public oppressions
are hid through third world dissections
But
two wrongs make a right
and as long as our morals are in sight
and religious sanctions are tight,
the pains of a people from clashing nations
become rights of passage and nationalistic sensations