Jungle Fever…is it a Disease??

I’ve been reading Hill Harper’s book entitled The Conversation which centers on the current state of Black relationships. It should go without saying that with each new chapter, my mind goes in a whirl spin of my personal thoughts regarding the content. One chapter in particular has prompted me to put my thoughts on paper about interracial dating.

I want to give a preface on how I have evolved in my way of thinking about this phenomenon that was thrust into America’s social culture via the movie Jungle Fever. At a young age, I was a firsthand witness to this type of love because my maternal uncle married a white woman. To dispel some myths about the kind of people they are, my uncle met her while they were both serving in the Army during the 80’s. He is a tall, dark, and very handsome man while she is a beautiful woman of average height (5’6”), proportionate in shape, dirty blonde hair, and blue-green eyes. So basically their physical traits are not your stereotypical busted black man with an even more torn down white woman. During my pre-adolescent years, I was fortunate enough to be around them (and their daughter) to witness what kind of relationship they had without the interjections of grown folk. What I took away from having been around them was the appreciation for the ebb and flow of their relationship. It worked for them and didn’t bother me at all. In fact, I consider her my favorite aunt hands down (despite the fact that they are now divorced).

If you fast forward to my teen years, it was during this time period that I began to really understand the depth of people’s discomfort with a black man-white woman relationship (notably black women). I have to admit that I let those ideals affect my own conclusion about the idea of interracial relationships. I adopted a new way of thinking about seeing a black man desert his “own kind” to be with a lily white girl.

Sitting here in current day, in my mid-twenties, I can now say that I have my own way of thinking in terms of jungle fever. Personally, I am in no way interested in dating outside of my race (hence my entry on Jury Duty) and it’s because o f superficial reasons or a thought process imposed on me by others. Simply put, I am a person who has strong convictions and what some may characterize as conspiracy theories as to how this world operates. That being said, some of the things I may say, joke about, or believe would not be conducive to an interracial relationship. It may not be pretty but it is a truth that I understand and would need my lifelong partner to “identify” with me on some of those levels.

To tie this entry in a nice politically-correct bow, I would like to mention a conversation that I had with a male friend last night. He posed the question, “With all of the obvious disadvantages of being a black man, what is the advantage of being a black man?” I told him that while it is a bit twisted, the advantage of being a black man is the envy that other races have of you. It is in my humble opinion that black men exude strength that spills over into every aspect of their being; others recognize this and do not want the potential that resides within to be fully realized. This strength combined with my spirit is what I want to pass down to my future children. Undeniably, offspring with an inner core such as that would be a formidable force.