What is jungle fever?

Answer 1

Jungle fever is a term used to refer to the various Tropical diseases, such as malaria. But it has also been adopted as a racist term used to describe the attraction between those in interracial relationships. It is used to imply that all blacks are primitive natives from the jungle and the only way a white person would have that attraction is if they were diseased. Used this way, it is offensive and bigoted. It is also an improper term often used in the porno industry.

The first known mention of "jungle fever" in this racist context was in 1867 when a German zoologist became ill while traveling in the Tropics, where most illnesses such as malaria, yellow fever, and typhoid were all categorized as jungle fever (and still are). While being cared for, however, he developed feelings for his caretaker, a Rhodesian woman, and refused to return home to his wife. Those back in Europe spoke of his "sickness/jungle fever" not as a reference to his having a contagious Tropical disease, but in reference to his attraction to the African woman.

The term again became popularized as a reference to interracial couples with the very controversial 1991 Spike Lee film Jungle Fever, starring Wesley Snipes & Annabella Sciorra. Wikipedia provides a brief synopsis of the film, see link below in the related links section. The term has lost its popularity since the bigoted subtext has been explained to the uneducated who now better understand its negative context.