How come in all of the episodes of Psych Gus and Shawn always go after a white chick and to my knowledge there aren't any black chicks that they get the hots over?

strange observation, but shawn did have a fling with joy in christmas joy and gus had two colored girls one in from earth to starbucks (Dulé's wife) and another one in he loves me, he loves me not, oops he's dead (he matched with her in speed dating

right away i can think of an example:
From the Earth to Starbucks, Shawn sets Gus up on a date with a black girl, Jessica.

Jessica was also played by Dulé's real life wife

Not to mention Mira Gaffney and Joy Guster

Gus walks into a bank the teller that Gus liked was colored

WoW! What a crazy thread. I believe that Psych is striving to be sensitive to the issue of race without unduly highlighting it (like referring to the race of the women Gus and Shawn choose to date). It is presented as fact that Gus and Shawn as well as many of the main characters view people as independent of race without trying to be 'color-blind'. Some examples where it has come up but dealt with using humor are:
1) Buzz pulling over Gus because he fit a profile in 'Zero to Murder in 60 Seconds'
2) The Black Jesus discussion in 'Gus' Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy'
3) Gus' fear that he will be convicted of a crime in 'Disco didn't Die, It was Murdered'

It is my hope that this dry as dust dissertation on race will bore y'all enough to close this thread because it comes across as ignorant.

Also, the use of the term 'colored' to describe a black person hasn't been used since before the Voting Rights Act was passed in the 1960s. So let's use more current terms in order to make everybody feel included on the forum. OK?
Thanks.

both shawn and gus have definitely gone after non-white girls. it's clear that they will blindly go after a pretty face, color not an issue.

and "colored" i wouldn't call offensive at all, as a lot of the non-white girls on the show are clearly not 100% black. hill's wife is mulatto, and, the girl in the bank episode looked like she had some indian in her. the girl from friday the 17th also did not look 100% white either.

As a person of color, I think "mulatto" and "colored" can be considered offensive. Mulatto comes from the Spanish meaning "small mule". That's offensive in my book. I consider colored to be outdated. There are better terms to use so as not to offend others on the board.

Also, I think the show has dealt well with race. I thought Shawn's comment about a black Jesus was funny since historically he probably wasn't white or black. As for Buzz's profiling, I never caught that moment until I noticed it in a rerun. I can see how it can be seen as distasteful but I think they dealt with it humorously.

Personally, I'd like to see more Hispanics on tv. Although we did get Lou Diamond Phillips and "Lights, Camera... Homocido" (even though that could be taken as a complete caricature of Hispanic culture).

i don't think that "colored" is offencive. i have many friends that prefered to be called "colored," but some of them just prefer "black." its really more us white people trying to not offend them, but end up doing it anyways

i'm black and i think the term "colored" is offensive; nobody has used that since the 1960s you should use somthing more updated and less offensive, and i totally agree with gingercookie about everything they said, and plus James Roday who plays Shawn Spencer is actually hispanic his full name is James Roday Rodriguez, he said he changed it because it would work better for him. And to the whole going after only white girls i don't think that's issue like everyone said they play it off with humor very well an shawn and gus have both gone after other races especially in christmas joy when shawn had that fling with gus's sister and there are plenty of other times too.

But you have two people of color who have posted in this forum saying that it is offensive. I understand not wanting to step on toes, but in this instance I feel I must point out that people are being offended and saying so in the nicest way we can.



I'd completely forgotten that he changed his name. It's a fairly common thing for actors to do and not just for "job limitations" but also for
union affiliations (AEA won't allow repeat names for example).

Gooie my friend!! Actually "black" is preferred to "colored" . Or even better...chocolate! And gooie chocolate is the best!! You know that though don't you girl!!! Ha!

Okay..back to the thread at hand. I was scared to come on here first but ah...glad I did! LOL!

And Shawn did go after a black chick (Gus' sister). But you (the thread originator) make a good point..there are may lovely ladies out there that are different flavors...they can mix it up a bit!

to clarify, i meant "colored" as covering all the bases of the races, from white to black and everything in between. as a mulatto, i do not find the term at all offensive, nor will i EVER. i've never come across another mulatto who has been offended by the term, or has called themselves anything else. also, from wikipedia sources:

The origin of the term is that it derives from "mula", the Spanish word for mule, once a generic designation name for any hybrid. As a result, it is considered offensive by some English-speakers, who might prefer the term "biracial" instead. Interestingly, Spanish-speakers do not consider "mulatto" offensive. An alternate etymology traces mulatto to the Arabic muwallad, which means "a person of mixed race or ancestry"


i never really thought that psych was lacking in the diversity section. keep in mind that this show is in santa barbara, where the population consists of 75% white people, lol. taking that in mind, i think it's working out well when it comes to putting in people of different races.

also, not to annoy, but i honestly do not understand why "colored" is offensive, but "of color" is not...?

My parents use the word "mulatto" but in the states I've always been taught that it isn't an appropriate word to use. So while it may be acceptable in some Spanish speaking countries, it's not universal. So we're never going to agree as to whether it is or isn't the right word to use.

"Colored" is linked with a history of oppression. It was a term pasted onto non-white people by white people. People of color have chosen to call themselves people of color. Historically "colored" has referred to blacks but not Hispanics. People of color is all inclusive for non-whites. It's about connotation instead of denotation. Yes they mean the same thing, but they don't mean the same thing, you know?

Racial language changes with every generation. What is acceptable now will be degrading later and vice versa. It's murky territory.