It seems shocking to me that interracial marriage has only been fully legal in the United States since 1967. While mixed marriages are still not the norm, they aren't exactly unusual either, with interracial couples making up nearly 1 in 10 marriages between men and women. You might think that as it becomes more common to see mixed couples, people wouldn't have nearly as many rude, stupid, or misguided comments about it as they used to. Sadly, you'd be wrong …
Whether it is asking about penis size (really, people?) or making assumptions about immigration status, your jaw will drop when you read some of the dumbest comments real-life interracial couples have ever heard.
Read on and make sure you never say any of the following!
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I Don't Sound What?
"I'm black, my husband is from England. My husband's aunt was sweetly chatting with me at a family function and then suddenly patted my arm and said, 'You have such a lovely voice, you don't sound black at all!' She seriously didn't understand why I didn't take that as a compliment." — Leesha M., Toronto, Canada
Math Man
"I'm white, my husband is Chinese-American, and I SWEAR if one more person asks me if he is good at math I am going to scream. He can barely a balance checkbook, and I'm an engineer. ASK ME if you have a math questions, morons." — Kelly W., San Jose, California
No Dancing, No Problem
"At our reception, one of my husband's distant relatives got drunk and told us that she was shocked that we weren't having dancing at the reception because, 'You know, the blacks like to dance. I thought her side would want that.' We had a morning wedding. No more mimosas for her." — Melissa J., Fresno, California
Religious Matters
From a Korean wife of a white husband, "One stupid (yet not ill-intentioned) comment from my husband's grandmother: We had just started dating and it was almost Easter. She asked if 'my people' celebrated Easter, too. I told her yes, that because I was raised Methodist, that 'my people' did indeed celebrate Easter." — Krista F., Saint Paul, Minnesota
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Going Back?
"At my bachelorette party, one of my husband's sisters asked, 'Haven't you ever been with a black guy?' I said 'Why, because I'm black?' and she said 'No, I just wondered about the whole 'once you go black, you never go back' thing. Like, if that is true, why are you marrying a white guy?' Lovely, right?" — Amanda P., Lincoln, Nebraska
Hablo Ingles?
"My husband's family has lived in Texas since before Texas was a part of the United States, and I still have family members ask me how he learned such good English. He doesn't even speak Spanish!" — Ann Marie H., El Paso, Texas
A Matter of Inches
"Don't tell my husband I said this, but his penis size is totally average. But every time I get asked the, "So is it true what they say about black guys?" comment, I'm tempted to lie and say, 'Yeah, I call it the python.' Listen, white people, asking about penis size is totally rude!" — Lauren D., Edina, Minnesota
Baby Baby
"I'm from Panama and my husband is from Ghana. When I got pregnant with our first baby, my super tacky aunt asked me if I was worried that the baby would be 'too dark.' Too dark for what?" — Edna A., Tucson, Arizona
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Green Card
"No, I didn't marry my husband so he could get a green card. Yes, he speaks English. No, I can't help you find Nepal on a map if you are too dumb to even know what part of the world that is in." — Faith S., Saint Paul, Minnesota
Soul Food
"I fired our wedding caterer when, after I told her that we were foodies who wanted elegant and cutting-edge food, she presented us with a menu that included fried chicken, collard greens, and watermelon. This was after she met my black fiancé. Stereotype much?" — Liz K., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Tired of Hair Talk
"I love my kiddo's hair. She has biracial hair and it is fuzzy and large and adorable when I pull it into puffs. But I am TIRED of talking about it. I'm tired of my husband's family thinking I don't know how to do it right. I'm tired of strangers touching it in the grocery store. I'm tired of hearing the word 'nappy' come out of my mother's mouth. It is just hair!" — Kelsey B., Hudsonville, Michigan
Love Is Love
"I am New Jersey Italian. My husband is Israeli. The comment I am most tired of is people thinking we were trying to make a political statement by getting married. I wasn't trying to make a statement, I wasn't trying to make my parents mad, I wasn't rebelling. I just fell in love with a hot guy!" — Sophia S., Trenton, New Jersey
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