It Ain't All Good: Why Black Men Should Not Date White Women [Paperback]

John Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

Exploring the controversial subject and attraction of interracial relationships, this balanced analysis studies the historical, cultural, and societal mores that influence these unions. Factors such as slavery and the perception of white women as “forbidden fruit,” the preponderance of women with lighter complexions in segments airing on BET and MTV, and the self-image and agenda of the African American male are explored in the context of how these issues may inadvertently influence the choice of a spouse from outside of the African American race. The reasons why a greater number of African American women marry within their race and the subtle and overt implications these marriages have on their immediate circle and the community at large are also examined.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Johnson is completing his doctorate in social psychology at the University of California. He lives in San Jose, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: African American Images (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0913543993
• ISBN-13: 978-0913543993
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,241,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Judge a Book by its Cover, April 29, 2006

By 

BlackPHD (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It Ain't All Good: Why Black Men Should Not Date White Women (Paperback)

This book is not in any way a condemnation of interracial relationships. In fact, the author explicitly praises interracial unions that successfully navigate the turbulent waters of interracial romance. More than anything, this book attempts to illuminate some of the often overlooked issues concerning interracial dating, particularly those unions involving Black men and White women. For example, the Black sex ratio (number of men to women) is the worst in the country - 9 men for every 10 women - and there are nearly 3 million more Black women in the Black dating pool in this country compared to the number of Black men. Yet Black men intermarry at more than 2 times the rate of Black women. This book is mostly a collection of statistics relevant to the issue of interracial dating, provided for the sole purpose of inspiring people to think critically about their romantic relationship choices and the cultural factors that may be influencing those choices. People are free to date and marry whoever they choose. The author is simply trying to point out that the racism and sexism in the United States appears to be influencing romantic choices on some level and merits critical analysis. Otherwise how do you explain the fact that 94% of the 55 million marriages in this country are NOT interracial?

23 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Faulty Analysis, Weak Arguments, and Simplistic Thinking, September 30, 2007

By 

C. Moss (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It Ain't All Good: Why Black Men Should Not Date White Women (Paperback)

I read this book to understand the linear perspective of people against interracial dating involving a "black man" and was let down. The author Johnson builds his arguments based on very strong assumptions that stereotype the black community and simply don't apply to the majority of the community in American modern society. Some arguments are age old and others he attempts to pass off as novel and then looks to support these weak arguments with anecdotes and statistics. Probably most importantly he fails to address the evolution of the "black" community in America and how it has contributed to "black" woman feminism and how it affects interpersonal relationships within the "black" community.

The book is largely about romantic relationships yet Johnson fails to factor in the concept of love into most of his arguments and instead he weaves in the notion that lust is behind the majority of mixed couple relationships involving a "black" man and "non-black" woman. Again the book is a discussion of romantic relationships and yet Johnson reveals his real lack of interest in discussing the topic by neglecting to address the importance of commonalities between partners. Commonalities shaped by income class, family upbringing, and geography are tangentially touched upon but not directly addressed. The linear analysis also fails to answer questions concerning mixed couples where one partner is not from the U.S. or comes from a country where the U.S. idealogy of race does not exist. The book also fails to address the "black" woman's desired qualities in a mate or the import of "game", charisma, and social grace in the "black" community. Not once does the author delve into the poor mate selection criteria of many "black" women in the U.S. and it's effect on the rest of the "black" male population... the finger is always pointed in one direction.

In its simplicity, It Ain't All Good is a throwback to the more racist times in the U.S. when pseudo-scientific doctrine was used to attempt to prove the genetic inferiority of African descendants.

32 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just men, August 13, 2007

By 

The Djeli (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It Ain't All Good: Why Black Men Should Not Date White Women (Paperback)

The problem with this book is that it is focused on African American men. Though at a lesser rate, African American women are also dating EuroAmerican men. Some claim that this is a reaction to African American men dating outside of their community, maybe, maybe not.
Regardless, I think women should acknowledge their role in this. I'm not blaming black women by any means but I want them to understand that they are not powerless against this.
In MY OPINION, when black women wear color contacts and straightened hair, especially blonde, it does not make black men more attracted to her, it reaffirms to the black male psyche that white women are most beautiful. When black mothers show preferences to "good hair" and "fair skin", this also affects black men. Im not blaming black women for this situation, most of it coming from whites and males; but I am telling them that they are not helping by contributing to negative images of black beauty by denying their natural hair, etc.

Most importantly, in my experience, black women under 30 are most interested in "thugs". Thus black men who are not thuggish may find quicker acceptance by others. True enough, many black women grow out of it, but by then the male has already developed his attraction to other women, feeling neglected by black women. This was JUST MY EXPERIENCE, I cannot speak for everyone.