WhiteNoise, I understand your question was just a straightforward one and asked in innocence. I don't know what the racial situation is in Australia, but hopefully it is better than it is the States...at least in parts of the States. As you can see, it is still very much a hot issue here.

My father tried to kill my future husband (black) and me (white) when we said we were getting married; obviously he didn't succeed, but he did manage to disown me and forbid all of my relatives to see me, including my mother and siblings, for 14 years. We were attacked by fellow students and strangers when we were in graduate school, we were denied housing, and a couple of people tried to get us fired from our jobs. And this was in Southern Illinois and St. Louis. To be honest...and no offense to the South...but it has made me afraid to travel any further South than that. Now, all that was many years ago, and we have found wonderful places to live in various parts of the Midwest where being an interracial couple or family has not mattered at all. Yet...I think we in many parts of the States still have a long way to go. Until that time, interracial dating, sex, marriage, etc. will be touchy subjects.

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Communication is the key.