My Message To Black Authors

Black Love?

I'm sure that everyone here is aware of the prevalence of interracial relationships among black women on Wattpad. I'll admit that I too read #bwwm (black woman/white man) stories all the time, but not because I have a desire and longing to read about interracial love, and not because I hold it to a different standard.

I don't read stories about black women with white men because I think it's adorable or somehow superior to same-race relations. I read stories about black women with white men because I believe that's the only platform where black women are shown in a positive, vulnerable light. 

There are little to no positive books about black women with black men on Wattpad.  There are barely any books where black men are shown as positive leaders, and loving romantic partners! Many have mentioned that searching tabs such as Urban can help find literature on black love, and while that is true, the books within that category carry dark stereotypes and dangerous themes within them, that I feel aren't safe for women to read. The books in the urban tab often feature physical, mental, and emotional abuse, while also glamorizing drugs, murder, and cheating, all for the sake of love and loyalty, usually at the expense of the woman. I'm not saying that these stories should never be read, and I'm not saying that these stories should never be written, but as a black woman if I want to read a story that affirms the strength and grace of the black man and the intelligence and delicacy of the black woman, I shouldn't have to scour for hours to come across one. I realize that art imitates life and that many of the topics within this category may be reflections of environmental and cultural influences, but I don't believe they should become normalized.

For this reason, I and many black women, turn to interracial love stories, where the black woman is for once shown as a woman that doesn't always have to be tough, or a stripper, or a protector. In these stories, for once, black women can visualize themselves being protected. I am not proud of this. I know that black men and black women can have healthy relationships, but what about the young women and children that come across these stories? What about them? What does it mean for the more impressionable if all they see is black love in a negative light, and associate the white man with kindness and vulnerability, and as a savior from the toxicity that accompanies black love? Or worse, what if they internalize these negative stories, and think that to be in love and to be a good partner, you must suffer greatly for the sake of a relationship?

So, to my wonderful black authors, when and if you do write about our wonderful black men, please consider showing them in a positive light. Please consider displaying vulnerability, love, and humor in their characteristics.  If you ever feel yourself becoming inclined to write an interracial love story, please ask yourself why you're doing it. Are you writing it because that just happens to be the way your story rolled out; or is it because you've internalized a false inferiority complex associated with your men? If not for yourself, please consider the preteen black girls who will stumble across our stories, we owe them better experiences, and we owe them the ability to build upon the love of their blackness and all that comes with it.