Racism vs preference. Where is the line drawn?

Before I answer your question, I want to be sure we have the same understanding of racism. The “academic definition,” for lack of a better term, is that racism = prejudice + power. (This is different from the “common,” or dictionary, definition, which typically defines racism as prejudice, dislike, or discrimination toward another race, regardless of the race of the “perpetrator.”) In other words, in order for someone to do or say a racist thing, he/she/ze must be in a position of power. Due to the effects that colonialism, imperialism, and Western media have had on our world, it’s safe to say that, with rare exceptions, white people will hold the power (real or implied) in any given situation.

So, where does this leave us?

It means that, for all intents and purposes, you cannot be racist unless you are white. Because I don’t know your race, I’m going to substitute “prejudiced” for “racist” in my answer, which it seems is the heart of your question anyway.

There is a difference between being attracted to features (be they physical or intangible) and “race.”

The first is preference; there is nothing wrong with this. For example, one could be attracted to almond-shaped eyes, a physical feature of many Northeast Asian people; one could be attracted to soft-spoken people, a common (personal) characteristic of many Japanese people because of their culture.

As to the latter, the problem with reducing a set of characteristics to race is that individuals are lost under blanket statements. For example, Asian ethnicities are widely varied, both in appearance and culture. What is “an Asian dude”? What does he look like? How does he act? Furthermore, would you be attracted to these characteristics in anyone, or is there something implacably “better” for you about dating an Asian man? These are important questions/motivations to consider. Our perceptions of race/people of a certain race are largely informed by a media that represents whatever will work best for profit, be it a positive or negative portrayal. This misrepresents individuals at best, and creates harmful self-fulfilling prophecies at worst.

Although one person’s word or actions might seem like a drop in the bucket, they feed into a much larger, often damaging societal construct and expectations. Lasting changes are the result of many individuals taking positive actions: This is why it’s important that we be mindful of doing and saying things that encourage people to feel safe and free in self-expression.

tl;dr: If you are consistently attracted to characteristics you find among Asian men, that’s your preference, and it’s fine. If you cannot pinpoint why you find Asian men attractive, if you just like the “idea” of dating Asian men, then you may have some prejudiced attitudes that need to be examined and changed.

We cannot really tell since you did not mention your background. We can assume that you’re Asian, but that may not be the case. You know what happens when you assume don’t you? Anyhoo, preference and racism are not necessarily equivalent, however you need to have valid reasons for your preference or lack of preference. If your reasons are stereotypical then that would raise people’s suspicions about whether or not you’re racist. My preference is a female with dark hair. I have dated females with light color hair, but, what catches my eye is a female with dark hair. I could go on to explain what it is that I find attractive about female with dark hair, but enough about me. A valid reason could simply be I don’t find, for example “latin” guys attractive. After all, you can date who you want to date. Some people would just say you don’t have an open mind when it comes to dating.

There is a difference between Racism and Preference.

Racism is a belief that each race possesses specific characteristics and/or abilities and racism is prejudice and/or discrimination directed against/towards someone of a different race.

Preference is not racist. You may not be attracted to certain races, but you have no problem with the race itself. It’s a personal preference. Just because you prefer to date a certain race, it doesn’t make you racist, only if your beliefs were of hate towards other races.

We all have an attraction to certain races, whether they are our race or other races. This doesn’t make us racist, it’s just a preference. It would be racist to say I wont date a white or black or asian or indian etc because all whites or blacks or asians or indians are blah blah blah. But to say that you prefer to date an Asian dude is not racist.

It is basically if you refused to date someone because of their race.

E.g., I am very fond of redheads, which generally means not only Caucasians, but, northern European ones at that. However, I think cute is cute, and I have dated Orientals, Blacks, and lived with a native woman for 7 years. While I prefer redheads, I won’t say no to others, just because of their race.

That is just preference in my opinion.

I do agree with you that there may be a point where it is hard to distinguish.

Racism is defined as degrading anything other than your race.

So technically it should not apply there.

It becomes a problem when you make race a reason to think of someone as not human, or a person. That is when you are not that different from the Nazi’s.

Source(s): I beat NAZI’s up IRL

Racism is hatred or discrimination toward certain racial groups. Preference is certain races that are most appealing to you. They are not the same thing, so if you preferred dating an Asian dude, that doesn’t make you racist, it’s just your opinion

I’d say it’s better to date an individual you like rather than a race you like.

Well look at me,im a pure white man with a black suit.

Everyone is entitled to their preferences. As long as you are not hurting anybody no harms done.