Positive racism is still racism, man.

Reading Oroonoko, one can't escape the uncomfortable feeling that the narrative is a kind of twisted racist fantasy. Not to say that Aphra Behn presents a wholly negative image of non-white peoples, but rather that her image of them is distorted by European romanticism. The term "orientalism" would seem to apply.

Orientalism is essentially a kind of pseudo-positive racism. Instead of merely reacting to another culture with fear or hatred, someone exhibiting orientalist thought might instead think of said culture as "wonderfully bizarre," albeit still somehow inferior to traditional civilized Western culture. Although the term was created in reference to European attitudes towards people of the orient, including those from India and China, it definitely seems to also apply to Behn's views of Africans.

Oroonoko himself is easily the best example of such a distorted viewpoint. Behn describes Oroonoko as being well-learned in multiple languages, graceful, tall, and statuesque. However, she also describes him as essentially being "not as ugly as a normal African." His skin is a "perfect ebony or polished jet," rather than "that brown, rusty black which most of that nation are" (15). Additionally, he is described as having rather European-shaped facial features instead of normal African ones. It seems that Behn's ideal African hero is some kind of racial amalgamation, taking the best parts from European people and culture and blending them with the exoticness of Africa. The result is a character that perhaps reveals more about Behn's preferences and fantasies than anything else.