Clumsy title, forgive me, it’s been a few months and I’m out of practice. But the sentiment remains the same. Meghan, an American biracial woman married a white dude who is in the Royal family and instead of being embraced into blue blooded entitlement she was told that she and her offspring would always be deemed Black not blue. More so if these babies came out with even a tickle of being able to tan well when skiing. *clutches pearls in feux horror*

So disclaimer: I am not a Royalist, a Meghan Markle fan, a Ginger fan or a fan of anyone that lumps a baby with the name Archibald fan. I’m more interested in the dynamic of swirling, interracial relationships and how optical it has all become.

The growth of swirling

Swirling or interracial relationships have seen a glorious increase in media love over the last decade. Unlike the 80s it was something that Black male celebrities did to signify that they had ‘made it’. Typically footballers and sports stars say that they only met white women which is based on the institutional infrastructure of any capitalist industry which determines which women are in the club etc. But it became so popular that it grew weave and skin lightening industries as more tried to aspire to Becky standards of beauty.

Et tu Black Women?

However we are seeing more women now and since Scandal there are stars like Serena Williams who have dated and married white men. The narrative here is a little different. It doesn’t tend to the norm and typically after not finding a Black man to marry. I get it. Why should anyone be alone when there are options out there. This however differs from the ‘preference’ for white or ethnically ambiguous women argument many Black men use.

Honestly, I don’t give a fuck if you swirl. Do you Boo Boo. If you find someone to love and love you then, I’m team you. But don’t then either suggest that this is the solution for all Black women or that you have somehow arrived because you married white. It’s not that impressive.

Shondaland and Bridgerton

At Christmas we witnessed Shonda Rhimes’s latest swirl fest called Bridgerton. I don’t know why but people actually started to think the Royals weren’t racist and that swirling was normalised. To clarify, this was not in the Julia Quinn books. I should know as I read them all. Yes all of them.

Next stop for Shonda is a South Asian woman Romancing Mr Bridgerton. Yes, audience, another swirl is on our way and this time we will pull in the South Asian audiences. Yay!

Again I have no problem with swirling in TV shows and films. However there is still an absence of Black couples and Black love depicted. Why is this? Why can’t we have both. We happily show gay couples and don’t steer towards bisexual only so why not the same with Black couples. It seems as if the current trend is only to have Black stars with either white costars or racial ambiguous costars. It’s boring now.

From a British perspective we have Amma Asante who explores the difficulties of historic swirling. She still gets funded for it so it would appear that the narrative in the UK is rather more how hard swirling is whereas in the US it’s just blended in (no pun). I’m guessing however that the argument in commission circles is that a Black couple wouldn’t get the box office sales?

Privilege?

It always surprises me when others are surprised by how racist the UK still is. And then the absolute distress when they were so sure that somehow they were the one non white person who was immune from racism because they got with a white person. What it does is gives you some shield from certain aspects of the Black British experience but then exposes you to the insidious internal dialogues among white folk. So you’re exposed, typically by yourself in  group that doesn’t value you and gulp, you’re actually vulnerable.

The problem is that nobody is going to feel sympathy for you. It’s a choice you have made and to argue that you didn’t know that you would experience this is somewhat naïve. This is why many aren’t that sympathetic to Meghan at this time. Did you think they weren’t going to be racist now that you had graced their dining table with your presence?  

Meghan

And so we get to a well timed Oprah interview. I say well times as every time Megxit blows up it coincides with Prince Paedo getting into trouble again.  I believe Meghan when she says the family were racist. Because every person knows you don’t just marry a person. You marry their whole family and as the first non white people they’re going to show themselves up early doors. The welcome mat that was laid out is all well and good but the reality is that beliefs are firmly held and intrenched in families . Blue is everything and if that means marrying cousins and risking unfortunate looking children then, so be it.

Megxit

Whilst Meghan has uncoupled from members of her own family I question how you can truly divorce a whole family. How long can you live off grid and not be drawn into the shenanigans of the pervy uncle or drunken auntie? Eventually people want to see their grandchildren and Harry is a firm favourite. I reckon that, just like Brexit, this battle will play out like a bad soapy for a few years and then be forgotten. The Royal family will go on sensitivity training (held by ex actor Edward peut etre?) and they will be gifted with a little (massive) place in Sussex to raise their sunkissed babies.

What some of us will never ever forget is that you’re never not Black my Dear. Even when you’re a light, pass for white hue. And you most certainly, and I mean most certainly, will never be deemed blue.

© Chelsea Black® 2021

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