The British star of the third “Star Wars” trilogy films “The Force Awakens” (2015), “The Last Jedi” (2017), and “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019) launched a social media tempest when he stated in an interview with GQ,
“I only date Black…then it’s about chemistry, personality, goals. Is there a synergy? Can I help you? Can you help me?”
He’s either very frank and courageous, or extremely naive. Naturally, the Right is pointing to him as an example of the Hollywood culture’s hypocrisy. “Imagine if a white celebrity said this the other way around,” asks the conservative “Gotcha!” site “Not The Bee.” ” If you’re putting skin color above things like chemistry and personality, however,” Holly Ash writes, “I might argue that you’re technically, per the definition of the term, a little racist.” Oh? I might argue that you are using a lousy definition. Racist means that one regards one race inferior to another, to the extent of regarding individuals of the race intrinsically inferior. What Boyega is describing as a bias, and biases are innate, natural, human, unavoidable, and yes, they make us stupid. It is our duty as ethical beings to try to recognize biases and their emotional, irrational nature, and, if possible, get past them. However, preferring the company of people more like yourself than not is a a very natural bias, especially when it comes to romantic and intimate relationships. A racial bias like Boyega’s has to be kept in its proper place, just like, say, a man’s preference for attractive women. That is his right as sexual creature, but the bias is unethical if he’s hiring a staff….unless he’s directing a “Charley’s Angels” movie, or something similar.
To his credit, the actor is not backing down, tweeting,
Well, it is being debated, much as he would wish otherwise. He also tweeted,
Always thought certain reactions to preference would only occur if you belittle other people while expressing what you like. This would mean your preference is based on negativity. Yet all I have expressed is my love for cultural familiarity and the positivity I feel. Interesting
I guess that’s one word for it. It will really be interesting to see if Boyega is forced to grovel an apology, as the equivalent white male star would be if he dared to announce that he only was attracted to white women. (Fat women? Thin women? Muscular women? Short women? Submissive women? Feisty women? Rich women? Dumb women? Smart women? Bald women? French women? Mutes? Midgets? Amputees? Contortionists? Progressives? Women who hate Donald Trump?)
The more I think about this, the more I’m tending more toward naive than courageous, but we still owe the actor kudos for raising this issue, wisely or not. Maybe, as a black man, Boyega thought that woke cant and political correctness was too far out of range to wound him. If so, then as John McClane would say,
Ethics Alarms 
Woke cant applies differently to people based on their DEI credits. I doubt he will have to apologize for anything or that anything negative will be attached to him. There is a double standard. Boyega can be attracted to whomever he wishes (absolutely true of anyone), but he can also admit that with only Republicans pounce as a response.
If they were smart, they would applaud rather than pounce.
Regardless of what it is, it’s actually needed in this day in age when people’s preferences are being attacked. Simple preferences like “you say you like women, why are only dating natural women and not transwomen who have different equipment?”
You’re right with the post and while first seeing his comment bothered me, your post clarified it for me. When someone states a preference in this manner, we need to recognize it is not rooted in an -ism, but in bias and comfort for the familiar.
This exactly.
The left’s insistence that innate preference for female characteristics is anti-trans bigotry is the very definition of gaslighting.
Who’s fault is it that it takes thousands of dollars of expensive surgery to improve the dating pool of a man trying to date other men? So much cheaper to instead shame them for expressing typical biology!
Interesting line between agency and bias. I think it’s vey much ethical to allow others to maintain a personal bias when they choose. It’s up to _them_ to determine if the bias serves them or not, not corrosive social pressures like shame and doxing.
I have long stated that one of the strongest drivers of human behavior is the need for affiliation or affinity. Humans are social beings and social beings require various types of reinforcement to remain emotionally healthy. No man is an island, so it said. Even the most courageous persons seek out like people, so they do not stand too far out from the norm. There are scores of affinity groups that allow people to socialize with like people or develop skills from those with similar backgrounds.
I will never criticize another for their personal preferences when it comes to social and romantic engagements. If we are truly free to associate with whom we please, then social pressures to include those whose characteristics fail to engender value to an individual or group destroys the freedom to associate as we please.
I sometimes wonder if all those who demand inclusion practice it within their circle. I will bet they all share an affinity with like-minded and similarly situated people.
Of course. And that is why being a minority is tough. But that’s life, that’s nature, that’s reality. An ideology that tries to erase human nature is either a delusion or a lie. (I think it’s a lie.)
Is not one of our rights the right of affiliation/association? Each individual has the right to be affiaited with whom they desire. The problem here seems to be the imited concpet of choice. On the one hand, the left cries for choice but then complains when you make a choice outside of their acceptable choice list. Mr. Boyega has two problems:1: Word order. He should have said, “I only date women with whom I share goals and feel comfortable with. I look for synergy and find that synergy in black women. 2. Lack of proper vocabualry: He should have simply said I am demisexual. [Demisexuality is a sexual orientation in which a person feels sexually attracted to someone only after they’ve developed a close emotional bond with them.]