Monday, August 24, 2009

My Black Boyfriend

I really want to tell you about my boyfriend! And not just because he's black (which he is). Actually, he never told me he was black, but the people he works for have been telling him he's black for years. His boss at Kroger wanted to put him on the Management Track because he was such a smart young black man. At his new job he's black too, which is kind of a relief because I'd gotten used to his being black and if I found out he wasn't, I would have to reassess the whole relationship. Having a black boyfriend has taught me so much about other peoples' cultures' histories. I think I understand my boyfriend's blackness very well because I am a woman, and once upon a time in history, neither one of us would have been able to vote. Well, he would have been allowed to vote like 55 years before me, so I'd say females are just a little bit more oppressed (not that it's a contest or anything!). And now the president is black, and the almost-president was a woman, so look at how far we've come, Abraham Lincoln.

Rating: blackandwhitecookie%

13 comments:

Viking Andrew said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Viking Andrew said...

I like your picture choice.

LoCo said...

That was thoughtful, Andrew. I self-edited this post many times myself.

Viking Andrew said...

Well, it's a fantastic post.

LoCo said...

I try to emulate those writers I most admire.

Internet John said...

I always thought he was black growing up. Then one day in grade 7 he told us he could speak Lebanese, except he said "sang bang" for like 3 different things and I knew he was lying.

It's romantic that you guys can be oppressed together.

Ginny said...

I laughed out loud at this post... I had forgotten about the Kroger thing. Ha.

laurie said...

I secretly love Save the Last Dance. But not as much as I love this post. I wonder if my boyfriend is black. He looks white, but does have black hair and his mom is from Ecuador, so you know, potentially black.

LoCo said...

Potentially black is right, Laurie. I think you should do some investigating to discover if your boyfriend is truly black. If he is, congratulations! Now you can refer endlessly to his race and not feel guilty about having MLK, Jr. Day off.

shoppista said...

STLD is one of my favorite guilty-pleasure movies, along with Bring it On and, for a trip to my teenagerhood, Cutting Edge.

My boyfriend is not black, but I feel the racial themes in STLD and Bring It On have helped me understand the unique struggles of dancing and/or cheerleading "urban" (i.e., black) youth.

For example, urban youth have such an important role in expanding the horizons of white girls trying out for Juilliard! They are also excellent foils for white cheerleaders.

I.J. said...

If there's two things that make me want to puke it's racism and fucking Polacks.

LoCo said...

Yes! STLD, Bring it On, Cutting Edge, Stomp the Yard, Drum Line, centerstage... any movie with elements of athletic/artistic competition. My favorite part of STLD is when SPOILERS he gets into Georgetown and she gets into Julliard and there is no boring, white discussion about "But what does this mean for US?" They're just psyched for each other, and they dance. They probably break up 5 minutes after the last scene and each sleep with different people that night, but for now, there is dance.

laurie said...

That always bugged me about the last scene, but I guess that just shows how very white I am.