Thoughts: Chocolate Craving?

Waiting in line at the deli a few days ago, I couldn't help but to notice a middle-aged white man staring at me from a few feet away. Staring with a look of interest. In fact, he looked to be a little too interested and in turn made me uncomfortable.

"Hey, how you doin'?" he said with a grin.

I ignored him.

Maybe it's just me, but as a black woman, I've always felt strangely uncomfortable when white men try to flirt or approach me. Not that I'm fine with black men cat calling, but it's always a different kind of creepiness when white men do it. Why is this?

Author bell hooks believes it's because of America's long time devaluation of black womanhood. In her book, Ain't I A Woman, hooks discusses how white America has perpetuated the stereotype of black women as whores and sexual savages for centuries. She argues this myth was created to keep inter-racial relationships at bay. At the same time however, this negative image of black women has intrigued white men who are curious as to whether this myth has any truth to it. In an excerpt from her book, hook writes:

"In large cities their [white men] lust for black female sex objects led to
the formation of numerous houses of prostitution which supplied black bodies
to meet the growing demand of white men. The myth perpetuated by whites that
black women were the possessors of a heightened sexuality encouraged white
male rapists and sexual exploiters."

Now, I've been called names like "Sweet Cocoa" and "Hot Chocolate" before by white men and always felt a bit uneasy about it. hooks' theory just may be the reason why. Thoughts?