It has been 50 years since the U.S. Supreme Court released a ruling that interracial marriage restrictions were unconstitutional. Since then, interracial relationships have become increasingly accepted.

Due to the growing amount of diversity and mixed-race citizens in America, media outlets should further normalize interracial relationships.

The media as a whole plays a dramatic role in influencing public perceptions, and portraying interracial relationships is crucial to reducing stigmas based on ethnicity.

However, contemporary American society still has a long way to go in order to accept interracial relationships as normal.

Public outrage erupted when Old Navy released an ad featuring a white male, a black female and a mixed-race child. Twitter users claimed that Old Navy supported “genocide of the white race,” and called the ad “absolutely disgusting,” according to an article from Today Magazine.

It is downright atrocious that some Americans hold such a deep hatred for interracial couples that they felt the need to express such views on social media.

All humans deserve the right to actively consent to, and participate in, relationships with anyone from any ethnic background without racist backlash.

The reality is this is not currently the case.

Yes, in the 21st century, people have told me “why don’t you date your own kind?” or “I like you because you look exotic.”

Why shouldn’t I, or anyone else, be allowed to date outside our ethnicities? There is no logical answer to this question. I refuse to be told that I can only date people who share my ethnic background.

As for the comments fetishizing my “exotic” looks, initiating a relationship based purely on my ethnic physical appearance is not only humiliating, it’s racist. In these instances, I am merely a sex object. Quite often the males who call me “exotic” also try to woo me with statements like “you give me yellow fever,” or “I’ve never dated an Asian girl before,” as if I should feel special for being the first.

I’ve been the target of a constant stream of unsolicited, degrading comments regarding my romantic choices and racial background. These personal experiences lead me to believe that some Americans still don’t see interracial relationships as equal to same-race relationships.

However, between 2000 and 2010, the number of biracial black and white Americans has more than doubled, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The same study found that adult citizens with both white and Asian backgrounds has increased by 87 percent.

If the number of multiracial citizens is increasing, then it is likely that romantic relationships between minorities and the white population are also increasing.

Media companies should feel morally obligated to include representations of interracial relationships because doing so would be statistically accurate.

The media can help normalize interracial relationships, because the more the majority of the population sees it, the more people will accept these types of relationships as legitimate and deserving of respect.

Geana Javier is a sophomore economics major from Seattle. She can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of The Office of Student Media.