Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Is it true that Boston has one of the strongest interracial dating scenes in the Northeast?
No, who said that?
White-Asian and Black-Hispanic is pretty common though.
As I said earlier i like 95% sure a lot of the mixed race in MA and RI are just Cape Verdeans and Brazilians. It’s not actually “mixed race” people as we would think of it more commonly.
Is it true that Boston has one of the strongest interracial dating scenes in the Northeast?
There's not a scene for that in Boston AFAIK. I was in one of those couples we were the only one in either of our immediate social circles dating a black/white person. No hostility from either circle but there was definitely those palpable "oh.." moments from some people in both sides.
There is very little integration in general. Her high school had 0 white people in the entire school at that time. Today there is 1 non-hispanic white student apparently in the entire school.. My school had 1-3 non-hispanic black student depending on the year in a student population of 1500+ today it's a little higher but not much
The exceptions I guess would be some areas where the populations do mix, or like the white people who live in black neighborhoods and vice versa they are expected to date across those lines. In general it wasn't common at all. Asian-white seemed common.
There's not a scene for that in Boston AFAIK. I was in one of those couples we were the only one in either of our immediate social circles dating a black/white person. No hostility from either circle but there was definitely those palpable "oh.." moments from some people in both sides.
There is very little integration in general. Her high school had 0 white people in the entire school at that time. Today there is 1 non-hispanic white student apparently in the entire school.. My school had 1-3 non-hispanic black student depending on the year in a student population of 1500+ today it's a little higher but not much
The exceptions I guess would be some areas where the populations do mix, or like the white people who live in black neighborhoods and vice versa they are expected to date across those lines. In general it wasn't common at all. Asian-white seemed common.
This is my experience in Boston for the most part. Very little integration, even more so socially than residentially. Schools in BPS with maybe 1 white kid and some suburban schools with maybe 2 black kids is not (was not) uncommon.
Is there an expectation to date across lines just because you are white in a black neighborhood? Can't say that's something I can attest to. Seems more likely the other way around. ...Like If a black guy told me he lived in Somerville I'd 1 assume he's not from Massachusetts originally and 2 will date a white woman. I wouldn't expect awhite person living in Roxbury to date black people.
Add to this you have a stiffer more rigid Irish Catholic culture trying to jive with more 'lax' a West Indian culture. Not much room for commonality.
Or it could be a yuppie transplant culture trying to mesh with poorer inner-city African Americans and Cape Verdeans (many of whom dont speak English that well to begin with same for some Haitians).
This is my experience in Boston for the most part. Very little integration, even more so socially than residentially. Schools in BPS with maybe 1 white kid and some suburban schools with maybe 2 black kids is not (was not) uncommon.
Is there an expectation to date across lines just because you are white in a black neighborhood? Can't say that's something I can attest to. Seems more likely the other way around. ...Like If a black guy told me he lived in Somerville I'd 1 assume he's not from Massachusetts originally and 2 will date a white woman. I wouldn't expect awhite person living in Roxbury to date black people.
Add to this you have a stiffer more rigid Irish Catholic culture trying to jive with more 'lax' a West Indian culture. Not much room for commonality.
Or it could be a yuppie transplant culture trying to mesh with poorer inner-city African Americans and Cape Verdeans (many of whom dont speak English that well to begin with same for some Haitians).
I would actually be very interested to see if there is a correlation between how American-born the minority population is with interracial dating.
Like compare Cleveland, Atlanta or St Louis to Boston, Houston and Seattle.
For example Minneapolis-St Paul probably lacks interracial marriage due to its Black population having a big Muslim minority vs Kansas City who has mostly African Americans who a more culturally similar to the white people there.
Last edited by btownboss4; 02-09-2022 at 11:56 AM..
This is my experience in Boston for the most part. Very little integration, even more so socially than residentially. Schools in BPS with maybe 1 white kid and some suburban schools with maybe 2 black kids is not (was not) uncommon.
Is there an expectation to date across lines just because you are white in a black neighborhood? Can't say that's something I can attest to. Seems more likely the other way around. ...Like If a black guy told me he lived in Somerville I'd 1 assume he's not from Massachusetts originally and 2 will date a white woman. I wouldn't expect awhite person living in Roxbury to date black people.
Add to this you have a stiffer more rigid Irish Catholic culture trying to jive with more 'lax' a West Indian culture. Not much room for commonality.
Or it could be a yuppie transplant culture trying to mesh with poorer inner-city African Americans and Cape Verdeans (many of whom dont speak English that well to begin with same for some Haitians).
Maybe expecation was too strong of a word for it. It's just not a surprise. For a black person in, say, Natick, then it's not a surprise at all for them to date white.Maybe you're right that the reverse is less common. Plus there aren't that many places in Boston MSA that are 90%+ black compared to 90%+ white so the numbers involved are a lot smaller in that situation and the white person living in Roxbury has a wider range of 90+% white neighborhoods/towns/cities nearby to pool from if they so choose whereas the black person in Groton doesn't
I would actually be very interested to see if there is a correlation between how American-born the minority population is with interracial dating.
Like compare Cleveland, Atlanta or St Louis to Boston, Houston and Seattle.
For example Minneapolis-St Paul probably lacks interracial marriage due to its Black population having a big Muslim minority vs Kansas City who has mostly African Americans who a more culturally similar to the white people there.
Atlanta is extremely more common than Boston. Also where I've been in central FL is as well and probably similar to Atlanta if you adjust for the fact that there's way less black people to begin with in this part of FL compared to Atlanta MSA .
The difference seems most pronounced in older couples. It's not THAT rare to see black/white in Boston but it seems to be mostly people under 40 and mostly without kids/probably not married. In ATL /Orlando Metros it's quite common to see older black/white couples in their 50s 60s 70s which is quite rare for Boston
Just as I noted upthread that where it's common for black/white interracial couples to exist doesn't mean the same thing as where it's most widely accepted, even when it comes to how "common" it is, it depends upon whether you're looking at it from the perspective of the white person or the black person.
In most places out west, there simply aren't a ton of black people, and most black people live in (fairly) integrated neighborhoods. So if you're a black person and dating, you're probably going to date a lot of white (or at least non-black) people. But if you're white, the chances of you dating a black person are pretty low, because they're just so thin on the ground.
From the perspective of a white person wanting to date black people, your best odds are clearly in the South, since there's the most black people and there are relatively high levels of residential (and to a more limited extent social) integration. Particularly if you're say one of the "NPR set" of white folks, and you're looking to find a black partner you feel like you can relate to/have similar interests (in that case, you're probably looking at Atlanta, metro DC, etc.
In Boston, black people have essentially zero trust for white people. It is looked down upon to date out if I'm being totally honest. That's kinda what black people in "trashier" communities do like Fall River or Taunton...where there is less economic space/divide between blacks and whites and fewer black people in general.
In general in the South at least in the metro areas, there's less apprehension/hostility around white from blacks. They're used to be neighbors, used to the cuisine, attend county-wide integrated diverse schools, So in ATL or Nashville that mix is more common and accepted than Jersey City or Hartford. Up in those northern cities, there seems to be more of a segregated vibe all around with higher rates of like black nationalism/power. In a way that's sort of different than "black excellence"
just my observations don't kill me ppl
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 02-09-2022 at 12:34 PM..
In Boston, black people have essentially zero trust for white people. It is looked down upon to date out if I'm being totally honest. That's kinda what black people in "trashier" communities do like Fall River or Taunton...where there less economic space/divide between blacks and whites.
In general in the South at least in the metro areas, there's less apprehension/hostility around white from blacks. They're used to be neighbors, used to the cuisine, attend county-wide integrated diverse schools, So in ATL or Nashville that mix is more common and accepted than Jersey City or Hartford. Up in those northern cities, there seems to be more of a segregated vibe all around with higher rates of like black nationalism/power. In a way that's sort of different than "black excellence"
just my observations don't kill me ppl
I think there are a lot of white guys theoretically open to dating black women. Indeed, polling has suggested that overall white guys are actually more interested in black women than white women are in dating black men. But they don't, in part because they get shut down by black women, and in part because they don't feel like they have enough in common with black culture to relate to the vast majority of black women.
So, I'm a white dude, and back when I was single, I dated several black women. They were all though, I have to admit, "non-traditionally black" so to speak. My black LTR was a woman who grew up in Central PA with only five other black kids in her school. She didn't listen to black music, didn't feel a close association with black culture. Her stepfather (who was half Korean) and her mom were Republicans, etc. The other women I dated casually were all from Afro-Caribbean background - one of them actually let me know she didn't like American black people that much (we didn't last long after that).
I have a cousin who was like a hipster type when he was younger who moved to Atlanta. He said as a white dude it was a great city for dating black women, because there were just so many of them that anyone can find someone they relate to. Doesn't matter if you go to a goth night, a vegan cafe, the local punk show, etc...you'll find some black people who share the same interests as you. You actively have to be not into interracial dating to avoid it.
I think there are a lot of white guys theoretically open to dating black women. Indeed, polling has suggested that overall white guys are actually more interested in black women than white women are in dating black men. But they don't, in part because they get shut down by black women, and in part because they don't feel like they have enough in common with black culture to relate to the vast majority of black women.
So, I'm a white dude, and back when I was single, I dated several black women. They were all though, I have to admit, "non-traditionally black" so to speak. My black LTR was a woman who grew up in Central PA with only five other black kids in her school. She didn't listen to black music, didn't feel a close association with black culture. Her stepfather (who was half Korean) and her mom were Republicans, etc. The other women I dated casually were all from Afro-Caribbean background - one of them actually let me know she didn't like American black people that much (we didn't last long after that).
I have a cousin who was like a hipster type when he was younger who moved to Atlanta. He said as a white dude it was a great city for dating black women, because there were just so many of them that anyone can find someone they relate to. Doesn't matter if you go to a goth night, a vegan cafe, the local punk show, etc...you'll find some black people who share the same interests as you. You actively have to be not into interracial dating to avoid it.
yep... none of the bolded is surprising in the slightest. Its adding up.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
