History Main / RaceFetish

Note that having a race fetish is not necessarily a bad thing in itself; it becomes a problem only when it overshadows, or is incorrectly perceived as overshadowing, the concern for the actual individual. If the person with the fetish cares more about physical lust than getting to know their lover as a person, such a shallow relationship won't last (and if it does, it would be a [[StrangledByTheRedString chore to watch]] and loaded with UnfortunateImplications).

This trope is likely to ''not'' be a part of a mixed marriage, since you hopefully wouldn't marry someone you don't know and love ''as a person''. However, outsiders may still [[MalignedMixedMarriage belittle the relationship]] by trying to reduce it to this trope, either by accusing the lovers of having an ethnic fetish, or thinking members of their own race aren't "good enough." Specific tropes include WhereDaWhiteWomenAt (Black for White or vice versa), AsianGalWithWhiteGuy, MatzoFever (Gentiles for Jews), ShiksaGoddess (the inverse), LatinLover & SpicyLatina, HotGypsyWoman, SensualSlavs, and EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench. As you can see, this is a ''very'' pervasive trope.

* JungleFever explores an interracial relationship between a black man and a white woman based on racial sexual fetishes. Another interracial relationship, where the couple sees each other as people first, is offered as a counterpoint.

* The 1967 comic-book story [[ExcitedShowTitle "Cold Steel For a Hot War!"]] follows the adventures of Captain Hunter, a Green Beret who is searching the jungles of Vietnam for his paratrooper twin brother, who's been shot down in enemy territory. His guide on this quest is a young South Vietnamese woman who may or may not be a VC double agent; Hunter knows this, and yet he cannot repress his feelings of lust for her, repeatedly referring to her (in the inner-monologue narration) as "an Oriental kewpie doll." Finally determined to get some answers, he unexpectedly grabs the woman and demands that she reveal her true motives before pulling her close to kiss him in a relatively nonviolent SlapSlapKiss moment - whereupon two VC guerrillas leap down from a tree to attack them both (the woman is not a traitor after all) and one of them mocks Hunter's foolishness with "Yankee shouldn't mix war with pleasure; it make him very dead!"

* In ''Eighty-Sixed'', there is an entire list of [[CampGay Queens]], many of them categorized by what ethnic or societal groups they find attractive.

* Barney's EstablishingCharacterMoment in ''HowIMetYourMother'' is announcing to Ted that he's moved on from half-Asian girls, and is now going after Lebanese girls.

* In ''{{Scrubs}}'', the DirtyOldMan Kelso cheerfully admits he has a thing for oriental women. All of his affairs are with one.

* On MadTV, there is a reoccurring skit about an interracial couple who host a call-in show called ''Inside Looking Out'', where they give tips on interracial relationships. The white wife is an unabashed bigot who makes derogatory remarks about her black husband, while the husband ignores the degradation since he enjoys sleeping with a white woman.

* The song ''California Girls'' by TheBeachBoys is all about "the girls from state X are attractive in this way, while the girls from state Y are attractive in that way instead".

[[AC:{{Newspaper Comics}}]]
* In one ''TheBoondocks'' storyline, Sara (white woman) is upset when she finds out that her husband Tom (black man) [[WhereDaWhiteWomenAt only ever dated other white women]]. He eventually argues back by listing all of ''her'' ex-boyfriends, all of whom have generally black names (one was apparently kicked out of the Nation of Islam for dating her).

[[AC:{{Theater}}]]

A character is expressing a sexual attraction to people of a certain group. This group can be as wide as entire races and ethnicities, or as narrow as a local tribe or country. As long as the division is based on geography, ethnicity, or race rather than individual qualities. A classic example is when a Caucasian is attracted to an Asian for being "exotic." [[MaleGaze This viewpoint]] is sometimes built into the narrative itself, especially in older works. In modern works this has a chance of backfiring if the paramour in question vocally disapproves of being objectified in such a manner.

This trope is likely to ''not'' be a part of a MixedMarriage, since you hopefully wouldn't marry someone you don't know and love ''as a person''. However, outsiders may still [[MalignedMixedMarriage belittle the relationship]] by trying to reduce it to this trope, either by accusing the lovers of having an ethnic fetish, or thinking members of their own race aren't "good enough." Specific tropes include WhereDaWhiteWomenAt (Black for White or vice versa), AsianGalWithWhiteGuy, MatzoFever (Gentiles for Jews), ShiksaGoddess (the inverse), LatinLover & SpicyLatina, HotGypsyWoman, SensualSlavs, and EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench. As you can see, this is a ''very'' pervasive trope.

* ''SaturdayNightLive'': in a sketch about a how-to-find-love seminar, Tracy Morgan's character is only into Chinese he-shes.

This trope is likely to ''not'' be a part of a MixedMarriage, since you hopefully wouldn't marry someone you don't know and love ''as a person''. However, outsiders may still [[MalignedMixedMarriage belittle the relationship]] by trying to reduce it to this trope, either by accusing the lovers of having an ethic fetish, or thinking members of their own race aren't "good enough." Specific tropes include WhereDaWhiteWomenAt (Black for White or vice versa), AsianGalWithWhiteGuy, MatzoFever (Gentiles for Jews), ShiksaGoddess (the inverse), LatinLover & SpicyLatina, HotGypsyWoman, SensualSlavs, and EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench. As you can see, this is a ''very'' pervasive trope.

This trope is likely to ''not'' be a part of a "mixed marriage", since you hopefully wouldn't marry someone you don't know and love ''as a person''. However, outsiders may still [[MalignedMixedMarriage belittle the relationship]] by trying to reduce it to this trope, either by accusing the lovers of having an ethic fetish, or thinking members of their own race aren't "good enough." Specific tropes include WhereDaWhiteWomenAt (Black for White or vice versa), AsianGalWithWhiteGuy, MatzoFever (Gentiles for Jews), ShiksaGoddess (the inverse), LatinLover & SpicyLatina, HotGypsyWoman, SensualSlavs, and EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench. As you can see, this is a ''very'' pervasive trope.

A character is expressing a sexual attraction to people of a certain group. This group can be as wide as entire races and ethnicities, or as narrow as a local tribe or city. As long as the division is based on geography, ethnicity, race or similar rather than individual qualities.

A classic example is when a Caucasian is attracted to an Asian for being "exotic." [[MaleGaze This viewpoint]] is sometimes built into the narrative itself, especially in older works. In modern works this has a chance of backfiring if the paramour in question vocally disapproves of being objectified in such a manner.

This trope is likely to ''not'' be a part of a "mixed marriage", since you hopefully wouldn't marry someone you don't know and love ''as a person''. However, outsiders may still [[MalignedMixedMarriage belittle the relationship]] by trying to reduce it to this trope, either by accusing the lovers of having an ethic fetish, or thinking members of their own race aren't "good enough." Specific tropes include WhereDaWhiteWomenAt (Black for White or vice versa), AsianGalWithWhiteGuy, MatzoFever (Gentiles for Jews), ShiksaGoddess (the inverse), LatinLover, SexySlav, and EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench.

This trope is likely to ''not'' be a part of a "mixed marriage", since you hopefully wouldn't marry someone you don't know and love ''as a person''. However, outsiders may still [[MalignedMixedMarriage belittle the relationship]] by trying to reduce it to this trope, either by accusing the lovers of having an ethic fetish, or thinking members of their own race aren't "good enough." Specific tropes include WhereDaWhiteWomenAt (Black for White or vice versa), AsianGalWithWhiteGuy, MatzoFever (Gentiles for Jews), ShiksaGoddess (the inverse), LatinLover, SexySlavs, and EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench.

A character is expressing a sexual attraction to people of a certain group. This group can be as wide as the classic races Asian, Caucasian and Black, or as narrow as a local tribe or city. As long as the division is based on geography, ethnicity, race or similar rather than individual qualities.

The classic stereotype for this trope is a white man who see women and non-whites as objects rather than as individual human beings. [[MaleGaze This viewpoint]] is sometimes built into the narrative itself, especially in older works. In modern works this is likely to backfire as the female character get the feeling that he wish to have sex with her skin-color or place of birth or whatever rather than being attracted to ''her'' as a person. When the trope is played out this way, it's often a misunderstanding or oversensitivity on her part.

Note that the character who has a race fetish (or is accused of being into a certain person for this reason only) does not ''have'' to be male, white or heterosexual. Also note that having a race fetish is not a bad thing in itself: It becomes a problem only when it overshadows, or is incorrectly perceived as overshadowing, the concern for the actual individual. (Of course, this is equally true even of relationships in which both of the partners are ''not'' foreign.)

This trope is likely to ''not'' be a part of a "mixed marriage", since you wouldn't marry someone you don't know and love ''as a person''. However, outsiders may still [[MalignedMixedMarriage belittle the relationship]] by trying to reduce it to this trope. [[WhereDaWhiteWomenAt Especially if the guy is black and the woman is white]] or [[AsianGalWithWhiteGuy the woman is Asian and the man is white]]. Other commonly fetishized groups are [[MatzoFever Jews]]/[[ShiksaGoddess gentiles]], [[LatinLover latinos]] and [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench the french]].

A character is expressing a sexual attraction to people of a certain group. This group can be as wide as the classic races Asian, Caucasian and Black, or as narrow as a local tribe or city. As long as the division is based on geography, ethnicity, race or similar rather than individual qualities.

The classic stereotype for this trope is a white man who see women and non-whites as objects rather than as individual human beings. [[MaleGaze This viewpoint]] is sometimes built into the narrative itself, especially in older works. In modern works this is likely to backfire as the female character get the feeling that he wish to have sex with her skin-color or place of birth or whatever rather than being attracted to ''her'' as a person. When the trope is played out this way, it's often a misunderstanding or oversensitivity on her part.

Note that the character who has a race fetish (or is accused of being into a certain person for this reason only) does not ''have'' to be male, white or heterosexual. Also note that having a race fetish is not a bad thing in itself: It becomes a problem only when it overshadows, or is incorrectly perceived as overshadowing, the concern for the actual individual. (Of course, this is equally true even of relationships in which both of the partners are ''not'' foreign.)

This trope is likely to ''not'' be a part of a "mixed marriage", since you wouldn't marry someone you don't know and love ''as a person''. However, outsiders may still [[MalignedMixedMarriage belittle the relationship]] by trying to reduce it to this trope. [[WhereDaWhiteWomenAt Especially if the guy is black and the woman is white]] or [[AsianGalWithWhiteGuy the woman is Asian and the man is white]]. Other commonly fetishized groups are [[MatzoFever Jews]]/[[ShiksaGoddess gentiles]], [[LatinLover latinos]] and [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench the french]].

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!!Examples

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* In ''WhatDreamsMayCome'', the main character offhandedly remarks that he thinks Asian girls are beautiful, leading his daughter to believe that ''only'' Asian girls are beautiful.
* ''{{Hair}}'' has a song called "Black Boys/White Boys" where two groups of girls - one white, one black - sing about how black boys and white boys (respectively) turn them on. The song is so very obviously about heterosexual race fetishism that it becomes very easy to overlook the fact that the song is ''also'' about homosexuality (with added Race Fetish) in the army: The male white officers agreeing with the white women that the black boys are delicious like chocolate, and the black officers agreeing with the black women about how kissable the white men are. By making the fetishism a mutual affair, the song makes clear that it's not about racism or sexism. Also, the focus on shallow beauty/sexyness is done in such a way that it sends an anti-racist message: The difference between races is a shallow difference, merely a matter of how you look. And in the end, each of us is lovable and beautiful to someone.
** The work is from the same time as the Civil Rights Movement. The black guy "Hud" is a fully accepted member of the otherwise white hippie gang, and the song can be said to say "not only are people of other races not evil, you may even consider having sex with them!". While CaptainObvious these days, it was a radical message back when it was made.
* JungleFever explores an interracial relationship between a black man and a white woman based on racial sexual fetishes. Another interracial relationship, where the couple sees each other as people first, is offered as a counterpoint.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* The 1967 comic-book story [[ExcitedShowTitle "Cold Steel For a Hot War!"]] follows the adventures of Captain Hunter, a Green Beret who is searching the jungles of Vietnam for his paratrooper twin brother, who's been shot down in enemy territory. His guide on this quest is a young South Vietnamese woman who may or may not be a VC double agent; Hunter knows this, and yet he cannot repress his feelings of lust for her, repeatedly referring to her (in the inner-monologue narration) as "an Oriental kewpie doll." Finally determined to get some answers, he unexpectedly grabs the woman and demands that she reveal her true motives before pulling her close to kiss him in a relatively nonviolent SlapSlapKiss moment - whereupon two VC guerrillas leap down from a tree to attack them both (the woman is not a traitor after all) and one of them mocks Hunter's foolishness with "Yankee shouldn't mix war with pleasure; it make him very dead!"

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In ''Eighty-Sixed'', there is an entire list of [[CampGay Queens]], many of them categorized by what ethnic or societal groups they find attractive.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* ''{{Seinfeld}}'', "The Chinese Woman." Jerry dials a wrong number and gets a woman named Donna Chang. He apologizes and hangs up.
-->'''Jerry:''' ''redialing'' Should've talked to her; I love Chinese women.
-->'''Elaine:''' Isn't that a little racist?
-->'''Jerry:''' If I like their race, how can that be racist?
** Though it turns out [[spoiler: she's not Chinese.]]
* Barney's EstablishingCharacterMoment in ''HowIMetYourMother'' is announcing to Ted that he's moved on from half-Asian girls, and is now going after Lebanese girls.
* ''SaturdayNightLive'': in a sketch about a how-to-find-love seminar, Tracy Morgan's character is only into Chinese he-shes.
* In ''{{Scrubs}}'', the DirtyOldMan Kelso cheerfully admits he has a thing for oriental women. All of his affairs are with one.
* On ''MyNameIsEarl'', Joy thought her father would give her hell for her marriage to Darnell, because of the way he approached her dating a black guy in high school. It turns out, the young man was [[spoiler: Joy's half-brother]]; Mr. Darville cheated on his wife multiple times with several different black women. [[spoiler: Joy also has at least one other half-sister named Liberty, who is on Earl's list.]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* The song ''California Girls'' by TheBeachBoys is all about "the girls from state X are attractive in this way, while the girls from state Y are attractive in that way instead".
* TheBeatles' "Back in the USSR" is in part a parody of "California Girls."
-->The Ukraine girls really knock me out
-->They leave the west behind
-->And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
-->That Georgia's always on my mi-mi-mi-mi-mind.
* Estelle's ''American Boy'' is about her liking her man ''because'' he's American.

[[AC:{{Newspaper Comics}}]]
* In one ''TheBoondocks'' storyline, Sara (white woman) is upset when she finds out that her husband Tom (black man) [[WhereDaWhiteWomenAt only ever dated other white women]]. He eventually argues back by listing all of ''her'' ex-boyfriends, all of whom have generally black names (one was apparently kicked out of the Nation of Islam for dating her).

[[AC:StandUpComedy]]
* In 2005's ''Comedians of Comedy'', Brian Posehn wished that someday America's relationship with Iraq would be like our current one with Japan. "We find their old people adorable, they have restaurants in the cool part of town, you have a Scott who only fucks Iraqi girls."

[[AC:{{Theater}}]]
* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' starts with the song "No Place Like London", where young Anthony sing about the wonders of the world. While the film adaptation and some (maybe most) theater versions have these wonders be mountains and such, there's also a version where it's quite clear that he's singing about the women of the different countries. In all versions, the song is most likely intended to present Anthony as a good guy, not as a racist and sexist. It's just that the more sensual version has [[SocietyMarchesOn aged badly]]. Which is likely why it didn't stick.
* In the play ''TheColoredMuseum'', Miss Roj mentions that gay bar "The Bottomless Pit" does not just cater to black men, there are also "The dinge queens, white men who like their chicken legs dark".
* ''{{Hair}}'' often use the song "Black Boys/White Boys" in the same way as the film version.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* In ''Single Asian Female'', it's theoretically impossible for a white man to be attracted to an Asian woman as anything more than a fetish object. Because all white men are creepy jerks, and it's time the Asian women realize that [[EntitledToHaveYou the Asian men deserve to have them]]. (Yep: While the in-universe narrator was a female Asian, the author was a male Asian - and a quite bitter one at that.)

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Referenced in one of ''SonicTheHedgehog2SpecialEdition'''s bizarre intermissions, where [[FunWithSubtitles the subtitles]] translate a rapper's jive as, "Sometimes I wonder if it's possible for a black man to have a fetish for black chicks."

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* In ''ClerksTheAnimatedSeries'', Randall is only interested in Asian Chicks, though when through some wacky circumstance he has several {{Geisha}}s eager to do his bidding, he sends them out for porn featuring Asian women.
* An early episode of ''TheSimpsons'' had a nightclub singer named Gulliver Dark performing in one of the most popular burlesque houses in Springfield. He sings "I could love a million girls/Every girl/I could love a Chinese girl/An Eskimo - " which is as far as he gets before the act is [[HilarityEnsues comedically interrupted]] (by Homer, of course). The showgirls dancing with Gulliver are almost all Caucasian (which, this being ''The Simpsons'', means they have [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation yellow skin]]), but [[CultureEqualsCostume they dress in "ethnic" costumes depicting whichever culture he would sing about]].
----

* JungleFever is based on a black man and a white woman whose relationship is based on their sexual fetishes for each other's race. Meanwhile, another relationship blossoms between a white man and a black woman who start off as friends. The film compares the two relationships.

Note that the character who has a race fetish (or is accused of being into a certain person for this reason only) does not ''have'' to be male, white or heterosexual. Also note that having a race fetish is not a bad thing in itself: It becomes a problem only when it overshadows, or is incorrectly perceived as overshadowing, the concern for the actual individual.

This trope is likely to ''not'' be a part of a "MixedMarriage", since you wouldn't marry someone you don't know and love ''as a person''. However, outsiders may still belittle the relationship by trying to reduce it to this trope. [[WhereDaWhiteWomenAt Especially if the guy is black and the woman is white]] or [[AsianGalWithWhiteGuy the woman is Asian and the man is white]]. Other commonly fetishized groups are [[MatzoFever Jews]]/[[ShiksaGoddess gentiles]], [[LatinLover latinos]] and [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench the french]].

* In ''ClerksTheAnimatedSeries'', Randall is only interested in Asian Chicks- though when through some wacky circumstance he has several {{Geisha}}s eager to do his bidding- he sends them out for porn featuring Asian women.

-->Jerry: ''redialing'' Should've talked to her; I love Chinese women.
-->Elaine: Isn't that a little racist?
-->Jerry: If I like their race, how can that be racist?

A character is expressing a sexual attraction to the women (and/or men, as the case may be) of a certain group. This group can be as wide as the classic races Asian, Caucasian and Black, or as narrow as a local tribe or city. As long as the division is based on geography, ethnicity, race or similar rather than individual qualities.

A character is expressing a sexual attraction to the women (and/or men, as the case may be) of a certain group. This group can be as wide as the classic races Asian, Caucasian and Black, or as narrow as a local tribe or city. As long as the division is based on geography, ethnicity, "race" or similar rather than individual qualities.