The Washington Post just published a very in-ter-est-ing feature based on a survey just released by the Kaiser Foundation dedicated to the study of you guessed it–us. What are we, lab monkeys? We’re “studied” and stuff?

(Shout out to my buddy Sophia A. Nelson for landing such a prominent quote and mention of her book, Black Woman Redefined! woot woot sis!)

The report and feature are long and there’s probably going to be quite a few blog posts that sprout up based on all the data, but one survey result about black women and interracial relationships jumped out:

Black women are increasingly open to looking beyond the pool of black men for mates. Sixty-seven percent of unmarried black women in the Post-Kaiser poll say they would be willing to marry someone of another race. But thus far, that willingness is not matched by experience.

According to a 2010 study by the Pew Research Center that looked at the rates of interracial marriage among newlyweds in 2008, just 9 percent of black women married a spouse of a different race — a rate that was less than half that of black men.

The reasons for the gap between black women’s interest in interracial marriage and their rates of interracial marriage are complex, according to experts who have researched the subject. Studies of online dating, for instance, have shown that black women are less likely than other women to receive messages of interest from men of other races. Researchers attribute that to a social hierarchy that still undervalues them and unflattering stereotypes of black women — loud, aggressive — that remain in the popular culture.

Cue “LEE-Roy the BWE troll…”

First thing, I HATE the way this reads. The implication is that the majority of black women are really, truly and indubitably interested in swirling, but…alas, nobody wants us because we all look and act like “Shirley” from What’s Happening.

Another snag in the data is a hunch on my part, but I bet I’m right. I think this 67% majority of black women willing to swirl is quite recent–too recent to have been reflected on the 2010 Pew Study. There’s a huge wave of enlightened black women who have just jumped on the bus, and these new couplings aren’t necessarily reflected in data crunched from even five years ago.

What say you?