‘There is definitely still a stigma attached to interracial dating, especially within the gay community, infamous for its “no Black, no Asian, etc” dating profiles’
A London based couple have picked up a 10k following on Instagram in a matter of weeks after posting photos of their lives together and posing questions and challenging assumptions around interracial dating – which they say still carries great stigma in some sections of society.
Ben, aged 24, and Jack, aged 23, met 2 years ago.
Both of them say that they have been surprised by some of the reactions they have received to the fact that they are a couple – from both straight and gay people.
‘Since starting our relationship, we have always been stereotyped,’ they told Gay Star News.
‘Without going too far into our sex life, gay men have always been very interested in knowing who is the top and who is the bottom.’
‘The problem is that most people don’t ask, they tell; “Jack is the submissive white bottom and Ben is the dominant black top”. We can’t wait to record a video about this! We find it so weird that it’s totally normal to tell complete strangers how we get “down”!’
‘One of the funniest reactions we get when we say we’re a couple is from people who are used to gay couples looking a lot like each other… It seems that quite a few “perfect gay boyfriends”, and especially those celebrated in the media, do actually look very similar! We love that we both look and act extremely differently, it really adds another exciting element to our journey.’
In response to the comments they’ve received on Instagram and from friends and family, they’ve now started producing videos and will be exploring some of the issues they say they have encountered being in a interracial relationship.
‘We have experienced a variety of racist incidents, from all parts of the racial spectrum! We have had both white and black people tell us that they disapprove of us dating, and to this day, some are still pushing their racist agenda on us.’
‘We say that we’ve moved forward as a society, but there is definitely still a stigma attached to interracial dating, especially within the gay community, infamous for its “no Black, no Asian, etc” dating profiles.’
‘Ben’s family are from the Caribbean, a place notorious for its homophobia; Jack’s family are from South-West Wales, which is not exactly known for its ethnic or sexual-orientation diversity! In our case, love won, and we are so grateful’
Watch their first video below, check out some images from their Instagram account and subscribe to their YouTube.
