A short post about the controversy over interracial dating, particularly within the Black community, stirred up by the latest cover of Essence magazine...

Racialicious writer Latoya Peterson recently posted an article that comprehensively covers the different responses and issues raised by the choice of Reggie Bush for the cover of the "Black Men, Love, and Relationships" issue.



BET's entertainment blog sums up the issue: 

When Essence editors chose to put Reggie Bush on the cover of their February 2010 “Black Men, Love & Relationships” issue, I’m sure they thought they were just giving their readers a little dose of sexual chocolate eye candy (those abs!), but instead all hell broke loose!

The Essence.com boards are flooded with seething comments from people who can’t understand why a magazine geared towards Black women would make the NFL player who is dating a non-Black woman, Kim Kardashian, the cover choice for an issue that celebrates Black love.

A lot of people have a lot of smart things to say about all of this (and, of course, a lot of people also have some not smart things to say). One of the points I found most interesting was that a lot of people have been "blasting" Kim Kardashian as a white woman...but she may not even identify as white -- she is Armenian, Scottish, and Dutch. Peterson covers the controversy really well and includes links to other buzz about the issue.

Here are a couple random questions I've been mulling over since reading this.

Why do conversations about interracial relationships seem to play up stereotypes so much? 

If the positions were reversed -- that is, if Essence were a magazine directed at straight Black men and used the headline "Black Women, Love, and Relationships" with a picture of a famous, beautiful Black woman who was dating a non-Black guy, would the cover get the same amount of buzz? How would people's reactions be different, or would they be the same?

How do you feel about this article and the reactions it's gotten?