I hear it all the time on campus — “I’m just not attracted to black people.” And every time, it makes me cringe a little more.

Are you a bigot for “not being attracted to black people” or persons of a certain racial group? Quite simply, yes, you are a bigot.

Many of us don’t even realize we are bigots, but questions like this push us in ways that are uncomfortable because they act as a reminder that we are all prejudiced. 

To understand why this is a form of bigotry, it is first important to understand the source of this sexual preference. There are different types of racial sexual preference: a preference for a certain race and a rejection of a certain race. Both are examples of bigotry. For example, a preference for white people and a rejection of black people are equally prejudiced. 

This is not to say that it is wrong to have a “type” when dating. Instead, it is the exclusionary nature of applying this statement only to race that is inherently prejudiced. Ruling out an entire race of people that are not homogenous as a potential partner based solely on race is not acceptable and is often the result of socialization. 

Like it or not, we are all socialized. In the United States, it is seen as normal for women to wear dresses while the same practice would be considered abnormal for men. It is not innate for women to wear dresses and definitely not in their DNA to do so. Instead, just like sexual preference for certain races, it is a result of the deep socialization we don’t stop to think about enough.

Racial preferences are nothing more than a learned cultural bias, and these preferences are often subconscious and a result of the environment we come from. 

Rupert Nacoste, a psychology professor at NC State, said “I think there are people struggling with this at North Carolina State University because they come here with messages from families, friends and communities about who they should interact with and who they would be allowed to bring home.”

It is these environmental pressures that often lead people to say they are not attracted to people of a certain race rather than some innate personal preference. Often times the reasoning for this relies on generalizations of a race. “I don’t like the way their eyes look” or “we have nothing in common” are typical responses. In the South especially, it is common for white people to identify preserving “Southern Culture” as a reason for racial preference. “Southern Culture” is as much European as it is African American. It is exactly this preference for whites and disfavor for racial minorities that are examples of bigotry. 

Unfortunately, most societies in the world hold one race as being better than others. Hopefully not surprising to you, our country is really good at holding white people above all others. This inequality makes bigotry common. However, it is never acceptable. Next time you think you are not attracted to people of a certain race, please stop and ask yourself “why?” You’ll probably find you sound like a bigot — because you are.