Arab Girls Dating Black Men

The looks on people's faces when they see me walking around with my boyfriend always amuse me. Apparently, there's some unwritten rule out there that Arab girls aren't supposed to date Black men. Sorry, I wasn't around when that rule got coined, so I don't feel the need to adhere to it. The name is Genevieve Abdullah, and I'm a young woman of Lebanese descent living in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. I was born in the environs of Baabdba, Western Lebanon. My parents, Elias and Francine Abdullah moved to the province of Ontario, Canada, in the summer of 1999. We've lived here ever since. Lots of Lebanese Christians have been leaving Lebanon because of social and political instability, and my parents were just the latest to follow that trend.

I lived in the City of Ottawa for most of my life and treasured my new country. My dad owns a grocery store and my mom works as an accountant for the Canadian Revenue Agency. My older sister Nicole recently graduated from the University of Toronto and works for the government. My younger brother Elijah is in his senior year of high school. He's heading to the University of Calgary next fall. On January 28, 2013, I officially turned twenty one. With my parents out of town on business, I could do whatever I wanted.

Freedom is a precious thing when you've got overprotective parents. So I went out to party with my friends and while dining at Croissant D'Or, this quaint little Haitian restaurant in the east end of Ottawa, I met a really cute guy. He was tall, dark and handsome. Emphasis on very dark. His name was Phillip Guillaume and he was the son of the owners. Not only did he serve us our food but he kept us entertained. I mean, not a lot of guys can pull off flirting with three girls at the same time but this guy did it admirably. Got to give him credit, eh?

I was there with my good friends Isabel Chang and Doris Adewale. We've known each other for a while. Isabel is short, loud and perky and of Asian descent. I've known her since our senior year at Saint Catherine Academy and she's the one who convinced me to choose Carleton University over the University of Ottawa. She's my best pal in the whole wide world, as us girls often say. As for Doris Adewale, she's a tall, athletic young Black woman of Nigerian descent whom I met at Carleton. Like me, she's a civil engineering major. We're minority women in a department filled with White guys who don't seem to want women or minority guys around. Yay for us, eh? Doris is feisty and brutally honest. I like that about her. She's always got my back when the shit hits the fan.

Anyhow, the three of us were charmed by the tall, cute waiter with the great physique and nice ass. Isabel pointed out that Phillip the cute waiter seemed to like me, and I kind of blushed because I found him cute too. When I asked Doris what she thought, she made a face and Isabel rolled her eyes. Doris is funny like that. My favorite Nigerian doesn't seem interested in Black guys but she makes a face whenever she sees a Black man with a woman who isn't Black. One time, we went on a double date together. I was with Christopher Dhaliwal, this tall and sexy Hindu guy, and Doris was with an Irish dude named Neil.

While we were out, I ran into my friend Amelia Harrington, a red-haired chick with big freckles whom I had a couple of classes with. Amelia was out on a date with a tall Jamaican guy she introduced as James Thompson. You should have seen the look on Doris face when she saw Amelia kiss James. If looks could kill...wow. Maybe it's a Black woman thing, you know? To get mad when you see the men of your race out with women of other races, even though you date outside your race. I asked Doris if she thought Phillip was cute and her reply was a snort, followed by "hell no". Man I'm tired of being right!

Well, if Doris didn't seem to think Phillip was cute, I definitely wanted a piece of him. While I excused myself to have a smoke outside, I ran into him, throwing out the garbage. Not the most romantic thing to do, I know. Nevertheless, I approached him and we talked for a bit. In between, I discretely gave him my number. I went back to my friends, and we left shortly after. Phillip and I exchanged a wink and a smile as I exited. That night, I got a text message from him, and I added him on Facebook. I browsed through his profile, and found out quite a bit about him. It's amazing the things you can find out about somebody just from browsing through their Facebook profile. Phillip Guillaume was born on November 9, 1989 in Montreal, Quebec. Hmmm. He's a natural-born Canadian and a Scorpio. Interesting. I'm an Aquarius. I'm not sure if our signs mesh. Aquarius woman and Scorpio man, should make for a fiery combination, that's for sure.

Hmmm. Okay, let's see what else I can glean from his profile. He goes to the University of Ottawa and studies Criminology. Cool, he's not just a pretty face, he's actually got a brain. Pictures of him playing football in high school. Phillip looking gorgeous in his high school graduation cap and gown, standing next to a tall older Black guy and a short, round Black lady. His parents, had to be. My heart leapt when I saw pictures of Phillip hugging a tall, slender young Black woman with dreads. Is that his girlfriend? I wondered. I read the caption underneath the picture. Nope, not a girlfriend. This was his baby sister Natasha. Hmmm. Cool. He's got a sister, that's nice to know. Typically, guys sisters never like me. I don't know why. Guys moms never like me either. The dads and brothers and male cousins, I can charm their pants off. Okay, now that I know what I'm up against, I can accept Phillip's invitation to catch a movie at the Blair Cineplex next Friday.

Friday night came, and I met Phillip at the Blair shopping center. I wore a green tank top and black jeans, along with knee-high black leather boots. I'm five-foot-nine, curvy bordering on chubby but still sexy, with light bronze skin and long, curly black hair. My eyes are green, which is a rarity among us Lebanese but my maternal grandmother was of Greek and Irish descent. My nickname in high school was Emerald, because of my eyes, and also because I wore green more often than the Irish. Anyhow, I was in for a surprise when Phillip showed up. He wore a bright red silk shirt, black silk pants and boots. He looked pretty damn good, though his perfume was a little strong. I greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then we made our way to the theater, arm in arm.

We got to the Blair Cineplex and got in line. While we stood there, Phillip and I chatted. He complimented me on how good I looked, and I kind of blushed. Flattery will get you everywhere. Phillip and I talked about school, and all that jazz. While we stood in line, I noticed quite a few people staring at us. There were three Arab guys in line with their dates, a trio of blonde-haired and blue-eyed Caucasian women who looked like supermodels. Arab guys, whether Christian or Muslim, seem to crave blonde-haired White women. I don't mind at all, really. The only thing I take issue with is the fact that Arab guys get mad when they see us Arab women with men who aren't Arab. The three Arab guys, Muslims by the looks of them, glared murderously at me.

I could practically hear the wheels turn in their minds. Sister, how could you date one of them? Nice Arab girls don't date outside the race, and when they do, they still have the decency to stay away from the Blacks. Even though I kept a smile on, the angry stares from the Arab guys got me somewhat miffed, and Phillip picked up on it. Gently he took my arm and asked me if everything was alright. I looked into his dark, handsome face and saw real concern there. Nothing is wrong, I told him. I took a quick look at the Arab guys, and noted they were actually still staring at us. Grinning, I stood on my tippy toes and threw my arms around Phillip before planting a kiss on his lips. Phillip was surprised, to say the least, but he nevertheless hugged me and kissed me. What was that for? He asked me when we came up for air. I smiled and shrugged. You've got sweet lips, I told him. Phillip smiled, then paid for our tickets. We went into the movie theater, to see the movie Gangster Squad.