In hooks quote, "the direct objective was not simply to sexually possess the Other ... it was to be changed in some way by the encounter," she conveys this idea of having sexual relations with other racial groups than the one one belongs to. I found this quote, and her larger implications of it, to make a lot sense in my own personal experience with dating outside of my racial identity. This points to a stereotype that people, specifically women, of color are "exotic" and have something more to offer than white people. She also mentions this idea of the Other providing flavor to the dull dish that is whiteness in her essay. The dangerous repercussions stereotypes can have when it comes to romantic relationships, or just relationships in general, is exemplified in this quote. The later part of her quote shows how when people "dabble" with the Other sexually, they return to their bubble expecting to be changed somehow. Are they expecting to be changed for the better or is it just like bragging rights? When I think of media depictions (mostly films from the early 2000s) of women of color and how white men approach them in films, if they do at all, there's this underlying message that they aim to experience or find something different in the relationship or encounter than if they spent time with a white woman.
This is a toxic stereotype that has follow women of color to present day. Women of color are only really seen as desirable when they're sexualized; when their bodies is all that can be offered. This quote points to this idea that women of color are seen but not heard, are objectified but not appreciated. And it also goes back to this larger messaging around women of color, specifically darker women, as providers. In this sense, the quote notions to this idea that women of color are expected to provide something different than white woman can. It is a harmful stereotype and assumption that the Other will change something in the person doing the othering, especially when it comes from a sexual encounter.
Lastly, I think this quote points to privilege, specifically white privilege. White people are able to try on certain aspects of other people's cultures, think cultural appropriation, and then take it off. This is where the privilege comes in. People of color, who have been oppressed and othered, do not have the ability to take off their identity and pass as someone with privilege. So when white people seek out sexual experiences with people belonging to other racial groups and identities just for the fun of it, or for the "imagined" experience it entails, it's privileged.
Signing off,
mg
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