Swipe left for racism: Race, attraction and online dating
LONDON — In a fast-paced society
that relies on the Internet for
so many things, it’s not surprising
that online dating has become popular.
Dating websites and apps like
Plenty of Fish, OkCupid and Tinder
require only a photo and short
biography so that users can quickly
and efficiently decide if they have
found a potential partner.
In the past few years, researchers have become interested in the relationship between race and attraction, hoping to understand why people find certain races to be the more attractive.
In a controversial study published on September 10 by Ok- Trends, research was collected from OkCupid users to determine how race and attraction function in online dating. OkTrends found that black people and Asian men received generally lower ratings than people from other racial backgrounds.
While many controversies exist surrounding the question of race and attraction, it is true that people often race into consideration when deciding if someone is attractive.
“Even though we like to pretend we’re ‘colour blind’ it’s impossible to recognize someone, to see someone as another social being and not simultaneously see their gender, their race, their hair colour and potentially signifiers of class,” said Women’s Studies professor Jessica Cameron.
Psychology professor Samantha Doralp agrees despite the fact that it’s not something people like to admit.
“I would say that race does play a factor,” said Doralp. “But if you were to ask people explicitly they would say no.”
Professor Wendy Pearson of the Women’s Studies department relates that in class, “Intimate Relations: Sex, Gender and Love,” a guest lecturer asked students if they would consider marrying someone from a different race.
Although race does play a role in attraction, OkTrends is quick to point out that this statistic does not mean that users are racist.
According to Pearson it is a lot more complicated. Pearson emphasizes that there are many different factors playing into attraction and explains there may be cases when someone simply falls in love and the question of race could be completely irrelevant to them.
Pearson also notes, however, that for some people race does become a factor, as there is an exoticization towards people of another race.
Professor Nigel Joseph, who teaches “Reading Popular Culture” at Western, agrees with Pearson to some extent.
Joseph notes that he has taught some classes where race is a significant factor but it works in two different ways.
“On the one hand other races may appear as exotic and attractive because they are different but at the same time there’s distancing and revulsion – in the very same person you can find both of those attitudes,” Joseph said.
Joseph explains that a classic example would be a white male who would claim to be very turned on by an attractive black woman but would continue to be racist in general terms.
Cameron agrees, saying that fetishes allow for a mixing of racist attitudes and attraction.
Cameron also believes it is natural to have certain fetishes for particular physical markers – whether focused on gender, race, eye colour or any other physical qualities. Since it’s natural to have certain fetishes, this would mean that racial preference is politically neutral.
“However racial fetishism always exists within colonial histories of white supremacy and it continues to exist in dynamics of systemic racism,” Cameron explains. “So we can’t say that racial preferences of any kind, whether it’s for the same race or for a different race, is politically neutral.”
“I would say that the most common fetish is gender, and all of us engage in that kind of fetish, where we prefer somebody of the same gender or different gender,” she said.
Although there are competing views concerning which fetish is most prominent, race is considered a common fetish.
Fetishes for certain races are displayed through the media and have an effect on how students view racial preferences.
“I think if you come from a predominately white society that is exposed to predominately white media then you’ve never developed preference for anyone else,” said third-year MIT student, Sheba Birhanu.
Birhanu, who is the promotions officer for the Black Students Association, explained that the media often portrays a certain ideal when it comes to dating.
“When you see a woman of colour finally get into a position of power on a TV show like Olivia on Scandal or Mindy on The Mindy Project, all the men they date are white often blonde and blue eyed males,” explains Birhanu. “So to see in the media women you identify with always date men like that is sometimes a little weird.”
Sometimes preferences are determined by intentions when it comes to online dating.
If someone is looking for a quick hook up, attraction is likely going to be more important to them than personality and so race would come into question.
However, if someone is using these websites in order to find a potential partner, it’s possible they might care less about a person’s race and more about their character.
While there may not be one answer to explain how race factors into attraction, it is clear that racial preferences exist and that those preferences will take shape in how people behave on online dating sites. Swiping right or left may say a lot more about people than we think.
In the past few years, researchers have become interested in the relationship between race and attraction, hoping to understand why people find certain races to be the more attractive.
In a controversial study published on September 10 by Ok- Trends, research was collected from OkCupid users to determine how race and attraction function in online dating. OkTrends found that black people and Asian men received generally lower ratings than people from other racial backgrounds.
While many controversies exist surrounding the question of race and attraction, it is true that people often race into consideration when deciding if someone is attractive.
“Even though we like to pretend we’re ‘colour blind’ it’s impossible to recognize someone, to see someone as another social being and not simultaneously see their gender, their race, their hair colour and potentially signifiers of class,” said Women’s Studies professor Jessica Cameron.
Psychology professor Samantha Doralp agrees despite the fact that it’s not something people like to admit.
“I would say that race does play a factor,” said Doralp. “But if you were to ask people explicitly they would say no.”
Professor Wendy Pearson of the Women’s Studies department relates that in class, “Intimate Relations: Sex, Gender and Love,” a guest lecturer asked students if they would consider marrying someone from a different race.
Although race does play a role in attraction, OkTrends is quick to point out that this statistic does not mean that users are racist.
According to Pearson it is a lot more complicated. Pearson emphasizes that there are many different factors playing into attraction and explains there may be cases when someone simply falls in love and the question of race could be completely irrelevant to them.
Pearson also notes, however, that for some people race does become a factor, as there is an exoticization towards people of another race.
Professor Nigel Joseph, who teaches “Reading Popular Culture” at Western, agrees with Pearson to some extent.
Joseph notes that he has taught some classes where race is a significant factor but it works in two different ways.
“On the one hand other races may appear as exotic and attractive because they are different but at the same time there’s distancing and revulsion – in the very same person you can find both of those attitudes,” Joseph said.
Joseph explains that a classic example would be a white male who would claim to be very turned on by an attractive black woman but would continue to be racist in general terms.
Cameron agrees, saying that fetishes allow for a mixing of racist attitudes and attraction.
Cameron also believes it is natural to have certain fetishes for particular physical markers – whether focused on gender, race, eye colour or any other physical qualities. Since it’s natural to have certain fetishes, this would mean that racial preference is politically neutral.
“However racial fetishism always exists within colonial histories of white supremacy and it continues to exist in dynamics of systemic racism,” Cameron explains. “So we can’t say that racial preferences of any kind, whether it’s for the same race or for a different race, is politically neutral.”
“I would say that the most common fetish is gender, and all of us engage in that kind of fetish, where we prefer somebody of the same gender or different gender,” she said.
Although there are competing views concerning which fetish is most prominent, race is considered a common fetish.
Fetishes for certain races are displayed through the media and have an effect on how students view racial preferences.
“I think if you come from a predominately white society that is exposed to predominately white media then you’ve never developed preference for anyone else,” said third-year MIT student, Sheba Birhanu.
Birhanu, who is the promotions officer for the Black Students Association, explained that the media often portrays a certain ideal when it comes to dating.
“When you see a woman of colour finally get into a position of power on a TV show like Olivia on Scandal or Mindy on The Mindy Project, all the men they date are white often blonde and blue eyed males,” explains Birhanu. “So to see in the media women you identify with always date men like that is sometimes a little weird.”
Sometimes preferences are determined by intentions when it comes to online dating.
If someone is looking for a quick hook up, attraction is likely going to be more important to them than personality and so race would come into question.
However, if someone is using these websites in order to find a potential partner, it’s possible they might care less about a person’s race and more about their character.
While there may not be one answer to explain how race factors into attraction, it is clear that racial preferences exist and that those preferences will take shape in how people behave on online dating sites. Swiping right or left may say a lot more about people than we think.
