The Blackwash
Making cultural & historical commentary on social issues. Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by colour!
The Blackwash
Bad Bucks and Snow Bunnies: Unpacking Interracial sex in the 1950s
Dreams, realities, and forbidden fantasies collide in this deep-dive exploration of interracial relationships in post-war Britain. Drawing from Samuel Selvon's groundbreaking 1956 novel "The Lonely Londoner," we uncover the complex dynamics that shaped the Windrush generation's experiences and continue to influence our conversations today.
What motivated Black men and white women to pursue relationships across racial lines in an era of overt discrimination? Beyond the Windrush dream of streets "paved with gold" and the harsh reality of "No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish," there existed a world of sexual politics rarely discussed in history books. Hyde Park—the "happy hunting grounds" of the 1950s—served as London's unofficial dating scene, where temporary connections offered momentary escape from systemic racism.
Through literary analysis and historical context, we trace the origins of modern stereotypes and terminology from "bad bucks" to "snow bunnies," revealing how fetishization rather than genuine connection often defined these encounters. The conversation challenges us to examine what has been passed down through generations as transgenerational trauma, suggesting that healing requires brother-to-brother conversations using our community's own language and experience.
Whether you're interested in British history, race relations, or understanding the psychological underpinnings of modern relationships, this episode offers revelatory insights into our shared past.
Greetings and salutations. My name is Kane Kawasaki and welcome to the Black Wash. Today's episode is titled Playing in the Snow the Adventures of Bad Bee and Snow Bunny an exploration of interracial relationships in 1950s Britain and how these historical dynamics inform our present day conversations. Our focus is to uncover the nuanced social, cultural and psychological realities faced by black immigrants in post-war Britain. By examining both the dreams and the disillusions of this era, we aim to better understand the roots of contemporary interracial dynamics. So what was the Windrush dream? Unlike the well defined American dream or the aspirational doctor, lawyer, engineer goals associated with West African migration, the Windrush dream is harder to define. To frame this discussion, I will draw upon the Lonely Londoner and the character of Moses as my primary source of material. First, have you read the Lonely Londoner? It's a 1956 novel by Trinidadian author Samuel Selvon and one of the earliest literature works to centre the lives of working class black migrants in Britain. Through it we gain insight into their dreams, realities and fantasies. So let's begin with the dream itself, as it's the easiest to articulate. The Windrush Dream was one of social mobility. The now infamous phrase the streets are paved with gold captures the hopeful mindset of many West India migrants. Even in the Lonely Londoner, a white clerk mockingly says to a jamaican man just simply asking the question you people think the streets of london are paved with gold, highlighting how persuasive this belief was. Two historical contexts help explain the windrush generation's aspirations. Number one wartime contribution. Many west indians came to the uk during world war ii to serve in the army. You know the age-old defend them of a country. Number two post-war citizenship. The british nationality act of 1948 granted citizenship to individuals born in the united kingdom and the colonies. This allowed people from the caribbean to migrate and participate in the rebuilding of Britain, ironically the same empire that had previously colonised them. Statistically, by 1950 there were fewer than 20,000 non-white residents who lived in Britain. By 1961 this number had increased to nearly 192,000, still less than 0.4 of the UK population. Many in pursuit of that Windrush dream to access opportunity and contribute to the mother country.
Speaker 1:The Windrush reality racism and rejection. The harsh truth of this experience, however, was a stark contrast to the dream. The Windrush reality was racism, institutional and interpersonal. The phrase no blacks, no dogs, no Irish became a defining slogan of exclusion In the Lonely Londoner. The author illustrates this very subtly. Employers didn't explicitly reject black applicants. They simply said that the vacancy had been filled. As Moses, the novel's protagonist, puts it, they don't tell you outright that they don't want coloured fellas, they just say sorry, the vacancies gets filled. When contemplating whether racism was worse in America or the UK, moses observes in America, they don't like you and they tell you so straight Over. Here is the old english diplomacy. This diplomacy, a thin veneer of politeness masked the caliber. Unlike the us, which had explicit segregation laws, britain employed unofficial but equally effective forms of exclusion. This ambiguity left black migrants unsure whether their failures stemmed from their merit or the colour of their skin, what I refer to as mind games leading to migraines. Now, hopefully, that has helped to add some context. Looking at the Windrush dream, the Windrush reality, and now we're going to deep dive into the Windrush fantasy playing in the snow, the adventures of Badby and the Snow Bunnies.
Speaker 1:This phrase refers to interracial sexual relationships in 1950s Britain, specifically between black men and white women. These encounters were often charged with fetishisation and power dynamics, not genuine integration or affection. In the Lonely Londoner, some white partygoers fetishise blackness, they feel said they can't get big frills unless a black man in the company. Moses, speaking there, is frequently invited to parties where he becomes the entertainment, offered money and praise afterwards, but never truly accepted as an equal. His blackness becomes a spectacle. The author underscores this during a new year's party, scene on page 128. They don't celebrate in this country at all, though I always want to take a trip to bonnie, scotland. I hear old new year's is a big fate up there. Who told you they don't celebrate here? Our bags of people stand up in circus and throw balloons in the air. You call it fate. The only thing is them white girls does want to kiss you, they say. If the first thing they do for the new year is see a spade, they'll have luck for the whole year. Them bastards. Here black men are simultaneously celebrated and dehumanized.
Speaker 1:These moments, brief and transactional, laid a foundation for the modern day trope of the snow bunny, sex, power and social climbing. Why did some of these relationships occur? For many black migrants like Galahad, relationships occur For many black migrants like Galahad. Sleeping with white women symbolized access to power and integration. On page 78 he says this was something he used to dream about in Trinidad the time when he was leaving Frank telling boy it have bags of white pussy in London and you will eat till you're tired. Conversely, some white women sought the forbidden thrill of a sexual experience with a white man. The motivations, though mutual, were rarely rooted in mutual respect.
Speaker 1:You see, these accounts are invaluable insight into what we see as the traditionalist or the silent generation on the cusp of change, on the cusp of baby boomers. Contextually, think the sexual revolution that was to come. Or penicillin reducing syphilis, or the swinging 60s. Or Sidney Poitier, a starlet for the integrationist age intelligent, spoke quote unquote proper english, dressed conservatively and had the best table manners for the mass white audience. Sydney poitier was a black man who met their standards. His character was tame, never did they act impulsive, nor were they a threat to the system, almost sexless and sterile. In short, the perfect dream for white liberals anxious to counteract the old but poignant fear of the over-endowed negro.
Speaker 1:Donald bogle, in 1973, studied and identified five main stereotypes for african-american characters in film which, he argues, made the crossover. Number one was the Tom or the Uncle Tom, ie the good negro. They kept the faith. They never turned against their white masters. They remained hearty, submissive, stoic, generous, selfless and also canned.
Speaker 1:And then we have the trope of the bad bucks physically big, strong, no good, violent renegades on a rampage and full of black rage, oversexed and savage and violent and frenzied as they lust for white flesh. You see the original bad b. You know, as we say today. You know a bad b. The original was the stereotype of the bad buck. You see the character Galahad. He falls into this. The adventures of the bad B and the snow bunnies, who essentially seek frills by crossing into socially forbidden realms of interracial sex. At At this time, white and black people are drawn to one another in the lonely Londoner by self-interest and ulterior motives. Sex and sexual attraction is ultimately one of the only things shared between West Indian migrants and native Britons alike. As such, the author showcases the unexpected ways in which even socially forbidden sexual relationships can unite two seemingly separate populations, even if only in a limited way.
Speaker 1:And guess what? It didn't exclude massa, the white man. He at times was also orchestrating the fantasy yes, the fantasy of the bad buck, of the original bad b. Even the white man wanted to see a piece which highlights just how hyper-sexualised black men were perceived at the time in both society and cinema. On page 96 it reads One night Moses was liming near the park and a car pull up and that had a fella and an old looking woman in it.
Speaker 1:The fella start to talk friendly and invite Moses for a cup of coffee. And Moses went just to see what would happen. And what happens was the fella play as if he fall asleep and give Moses a free hand, because it have fellas who does get big frills that way. But moses didn't do anything because he knows what the position like and even though the fella offer him free, pounds his smile and be polite and tell him he's sorry and good night. You see, the pay would give him temporary access to spaces and status, while also reinforcing white supremacy through fetishization.
Speaker 1:In another brief scene, a white woman calls a Jamaican man a black bastard, not as an insult but as a compliment, because she's fetishizing his blackness in the heat of the moment. If you know what I mean, this is what I refer to as the porn preference or plantation perpetuation sexual attraction based on racial fantasies and not personal connection. I need you to know that anytime your race comes into play in the bedroom, that's an example of a porn preference and the plantation perpetuation, ie a racial fantasy, could be anyone. It's not based on you. There's no personal connection in that moment, it's clear that that woman derives sexual pleasure from the idea that she's transgressing social norms by sleeping with a bad buck, a black man, a notion she tries to emphasize for herself by calling him a black bastard. To make things worse, she seems to think of this as some kind of compliment, as if reminding the jamaican man that he's a black man sleeping with a white woman should lift his spirits and make him feel proud and or lucky. You see today's notion of like community dick, or that a girl is a pass around, or that she's a junge or any kind of word that you want to kind of think about. And then now, largely, you would find them online and dating apps and hinge and all of them things there.
Speaker 1:You see, back in the day, the communal aspect of high park. High park was referred to as happy hunting grounds. That was the hinge of the 1950s. The fact that a black man could go to a park and find some form of relation with a white woman from an entirely different walk of life, regardless of racism and social economic disparity, is quite significant and needs to be spoken about more often. To back up what I'm saying, although this was a few years later, in 1962 the bbc published that in high park there were 61 cases of prostitution and 181 acts of indecent behavior and 27 cases of male harassment.
Speaker 1:Yes, our dads, mums, granddads, grandmums, great-grandparents answers. Be like to them did you ever used to go high park? Back in the day. Just ask them that question, because you know they won't tell you the truth. But if you say to them, did you used to go high park, then if they say yes, then say oh, did you ever was it? Did you go for speakers corner? Or if they said, no, man, we go to lime. Yes, you know, you know. Say what that was up to. Okay, I'm getting jovial with you guys, as I often do time, so I couldn't give you the history and not address the contemporary. Online we see a lot of divisive conversations regarding black men exclusively dating white women.
Speaker 1:The point of this episode is to show the adventure of the bad bee and the snow bunny and show just how deep rooted it is here in Britain. It's transgenerational. We're dealing with transgenerational trauma. What that means is it's both psychological and physiological, looking at the effects that that trauma has had on people and subsequent generations in that group. We are carrying that collective trauma that we're experiencing in our communities and it's being carried as a part of our group collective memory and shared sense of identity. And one of the ways that we deal with that is through solution focused brief therapy. This type of therapy uses the client's language and experience to address things systematically within the family. The purpose of looking at the lonely Londoner, which is based in the 1950s is because, like it says, this type of therapy uses the client's language. It's our language, from our forefathers, our grandfathers, fathers, great grandfathers it's in the client's language and although the characters are Trinidadian that's why I did my best to read it in a general Caribbean accent to really kind of get into the client's language, our forefathers language. So I say that to say men, family, we have some work to do. Brothers, we have some work to do.
Speaker 1:Black women you are not the messenger, it's man to man, because even in the 1950s the same discourse took place. Let me take you to page 59. This is a character called Tanti talking to a man called Lewis. White girls Tanti grumble as she put the kettle on the fireplace fire. Is that what sweetened you up? So many of you come to London, your own kind of girls? Not good enough. It's only white girls. I see Agnes bring a nice girlfriend from Jamaica, but you didn't even blink on she. White girls, go on, they will catch up with you in this country.
Speaker 1:Now I don't know about you, but considering that that was the 1950s, why does it feel like our conversations have not moved forward? And I don't know about you, but why does that conversation in the 50s still feel so ever-present today, in 2025? And that's because the conversation shouldn't be between black man and black woman, because all you're gonna get is you're bitter, you're jealous. They're not going to be looking at the solution, focused, brief, therapy, of using the client's language and experience to address things systematically. It's not going to read off like that and that's why it's so important to hold these conversations brother to brother, friend to friend, son to father, uncle, nephew, grandfather, grandkids, nephew, grandfather, grandkids At that time.
Speaker 1:To answer Tanti's question about why he weren't looking no Jamaican girls and why is he looking upon the white girls, obviously we've expressed the idea of the fetishization and the excitement and something different, but one thing we haven't touched upon is that a black woman at that time would have been horizontal integration. You're both coming to Britain. You're both on the same playing field, you hold just as much power and status as he does. You're moving horizontally, whereas some of these black male migrants were looking for vertical integration. They were looking to move up the social ladder status and power, and having a white woman would give them access to that vertical integration moving on up. What's interesting is that today that has flipped somewhat. We see and experience a lot more racial social mobility from a white woman dating a black man and I share that on my first podcast episode, if you want to dig a bit deeper, talking about the five Ps of preferential dating.
Speaker 1:My final thoughts the healthiest interracial relationships are built on connection, not fetish. Through literature, history and therapy, we can unpack these narratives, recognizing what has passed down and choosing what we want to carry forward. As always, the goal is information, revelation and transformation. Let's change the narrative together. By narrative I mean statistics of when you look at marriages. The marriages that are statistically most likely to break up and separate and divorce are those of a black man and a white woman. Thank you so much for listening. I'm Ken Kawasaki.
Speaker 1:If you do buy the book the Lonely Londoner, my only small, small request is that you buy it via my bookshoporg link that you can find on my link tree on any of my social media platforms. The reason why I say that is because, number one, they support independent bookshops. So if you buy the Lonely Londoner from my affiliate link, it's purchased from an independent bookstore and not Amazon. And secondly, I get small, small commission from that purchase, so it doesn't affect the price whatsoever. Last time I checked, bookshoporg actually gave the best price for the Lonely Londoner. So if you do purchase the book, which I do suggest, please buy it through my affiliate link, if you can.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for checking out this Windrush edition. If you're not from the UK, windrush Day is celebrated on the 22nd of June. My hope is that this Windrush episode brought about some insight. I wanted to humanise the Windrush generation, as we often hear about their dreams, how they contributed to Britain, rebuilt Britain, contributed mother country. We often hear about their reality no, no blacks, no dogs, no Irish but how often do we hear about their fantasies and how often do we explore how that affected our contemporaries?