Do most women prefer to date their own race?
A study was done recently by economists and psychologists from Columbia University trying to answering the age-old dating question: “What, exactly, makes someone desirable?”. During the two year study, speed dating experiments were conducted to collect response by more than 400 daters.
Among the result of the study some “not-so-surprising” findings from the experiment typically include things such as:
- Male based their decision heavily on the physical appearance of their dates, while women based their decisions on the intelligence of their dates.
- Women who are more ambitious than their dates are considered less desirable.
These conclusions are fairly well known and intuitive. However, one of the most surprising results from the experiments indicates that women prefer their own race, while men just don’t care.
Also among the findings, it is found that “…East Asian women did not discriminate against white men (only against black and Hispanic men). As a result, the white man-Asian woman pairing was the most common form of interracial dating—but because of the women’s neutrality, not the men’s pronounced preference….”
Here’s the link to the full article.
An Economist Goes to a bar … and solves the mysteries of dating.
Althought some of the results seems interesting; I think the problem with this study is the experiment smaple size seems too small. The study deals with grad students from an east coast school, which might not be a good representative sample of the general female/male population across the country.
Popularity: 6% [?]
November 13th, 2007 at 7:29 am
I think so, most of women preffer to date their own race. First, it’ very near, they can commnunicate with their family easily. Second, they will feel more secure.
Especially Eastern women.
November 13th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I would have to agree. Sample base is too small. This data is full of shit in my experience.
November 14th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
At the risk of being crude… as far as racial preference is concerned for men, I feel compelled to share a nugget of wisdom my grandfather used to say.
“It’s all pink in the middle.”
November 15th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I’m a white Southern boy and most of the women I date are stupid.
November 16th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
you have some good points
November 17th, 2007 at 4:37 am
i prefer my own race, but i would have no problems dating outside my race. as long as he treats me right, he could be green.
November 17th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
I have dated outside my race, a few times.
Although, I will admit that if I were to post a personal ad I would select within my own race as my preference. Which, based on my past, is a bit strange.
However, my dating a man is not based on physical attributes ever. I learn about his heart, and how he treats other people. I really listen to what he says and things he doesn’t say.
As the saying goes, never judge a book by it’s cover.
November 23rd, 2007 at 10:24 am
Men have a weakness for insatiable desire for sex. A woman will toy with this desire but once she gives in to sex, the man will get back in control. and if she withholds sex, he simply looks elsewhere. With so
many articles on how to seduce women. There are that many books on how to impress a Woman. But how, really, do you get her attention, keep her attention, and make her come back for more of the
wonderful you? Do you follow the men’s versions of The Rules, that say you wait x number of times, you avoid a, b, c, and you be sure to always do d, e, and f? Do you follow the special advice on how to
seduce women who are hot or who are rich? Do you go with the psychology of genders, and follow the generalizations that all girls want Brad Pitt, all women are on diets, and all girls love to shop?
November 23rd, 2007 at 4:56 pm
I think some think it is easier to date their own race, due shared cultural values. However, many mixed relationships seem to work very well.
November 27th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
My own experience has shown me American Caucasian men are racially picky daters. They prefer Asian and Caucasian women. When quizzed “why”, they usually say “Asian women are so thin/hot (media slang for thin)/”, and make negative statements about the weight and body size of African-American women and Latinas (except Jennifer Lopez, who appears to be “acceptable”). These men also say they would date “our own kind, except white women are getting too fat nowadays. You never see a fat Asian woman.” This is interesting, because overweight Asian women do exist. Latin and African-American men seem not to hold women to the artificial media standard of women white men do. They make appreciative growls at the normal curves of women and even have an appreciative term for it: “thick”. This may explain why Caucasian women have a better time dating darker men and have abandoned Caucasian men as believable romantic partners. Caucasian men are very hung up on women’s body size. VERY. And I say that as a woman who is not Caucasian but has observed this.
December 1st, 2007 at 7:46 pm
This is a very big issue for me. Originally from NYC, I’ve always been surrounded by a very diverse crowd of very ‘open’ people. Interracial dating is pretty common. But even in NYC it still raises eye brows, which in this day and age, is ridiculous. It’s ok to prefer your own race as long as it’s preference and not prejudice or peer pressure. Our differences don’t stop at the color of our skin, there are cultural differences which can be a really big deal. I know, because I date outside my race. Unfortunately for those of us who prefer to date outside our race, it’s harder- 1. because we just don’t have as many opportunities because the majority of folks prefer their own race, and 2. because we still live in a world that has yet to fully accept interracial dating. Come on world, wake up. Thank you Cin for this great piece. I think I’ll write an article about this in the Love & Passion category of my blog: www.velvetspot.com
January 16th, 2008 at 4:22 am
Zach, you hitted the point. However, with the increasement of international communication, more and more ladies would like to date with other races. It is a truth that interracial babies are much more beautiful and clever.
January 17th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I understand female psychology so much better now. I’m even confident I could find a beautiful woman to spend time with any night of the week. That’s a 180 degree turn from how I used to be.
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Regarding dating and marriage, white American women are more racist than white American men.
January 27th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
So Hispanics are not white? What sort of crazy racism is this?
January 29th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
I guess it has something to do with our beliefs, the ones we learned to have as children. My mom would be disappointed if I choose a non-catholic husband but she will probably learn to live with it.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:29 am
so when a black woman dates a white guy, she’s after something else?
February 13th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
“So Hispanics are not white? What sort of crazy racism is this?”
At least that is what most of the GOP thinks. May be they are crazy.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
“My mom would be disappointed if I choose a non-catholic husband but she will probably learn to live with it.”
But, likely your mom would be even more disappointed if you chose a catholic Filipino or Vietnamese over a protestant white.
March 13th, 2008 at 4:50 am
Here’s to recovering half my friends from half the fat no souled bodies walking the face of the planet. Only to make literally a few tall stupid looking girls who probably will end up dating a black man and there’s goes your stupidity! Admit your dumb! Plus all these so called hot women look old. Anyone noticed how their youthfulness doesn’t fit their bodies. Who will the kids rely on when you never tell them the truth because of your pride. Well here’s a note. “One day honey daddy went and had an affair with the most miserable woman on the face of the planet who used many people because we were supposed to fix her problems while she was attacking our families.” At first we cared but. maybe that was stupid. Now they can fix their own problems. Hee Hee.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:17 am
I’m Asian. I’m educated. I’ve been around the dating block and have always been a Baskin Robbin’s kind of dater - you know, all 31 flavors. As such, and having dated for quite a while, I’ve noticed a few things: 1. It seems that interracial relationships are more socially acceptable these days. This could be due to a number of factors that I won’t go into, but , to throw out a relevant example, in some cities, I’ve seen healthcare ads depecting the “ideal family” and displaying the Caucasian dad, the Asian mom, the beautiful hapa baby and the Asian grammy and grampy. 2. Yes, there seems to be a disproportionate amount of caucasian male/asian female pairings out there. Highly prevalent on the coasts but even manifests in midwest and southern states…in fact, I’ve seen this pairing more often than anything else. This too can be due to a number of factors I won’t delve into but it’s hard to miss. 3. Caucasian women and African American women seem to have a new perspective of Asian men that I don’t think ever existed before…perhaps I should thank the media, but it’s easier to get dates with quality, sexy, intelligent Caucasian and African american women than ever before. 4. I’ve found that it’s become increasingly challenging to get an Asian girl to go out with me and I’ve heard similar complaints from other asian friends….go figure. 5. I’ve often wondered what influences these dating decisions and I’d likely go bananas trying to pinpoint them. For me, it’s been proximity, the makeup of one’s social structure/support base, and your own level of evolution whether it’s been influenced by media or personal experience. Eh…
March 24th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I Totally agree - and this is from Experience.
I’m not at all shy - I’ve met, dated, and talked to Thousands of women - I am from Los Angeles and have been part of the party scene for many years now, and can say from total experience as a black man - that most women do indeed prefer their own race.
Also I should add - that I’ve spent plenty of time in Chat rooms and have come to realize this is true - I say it all the time, and often people get upset - but the only reason racism is around, is because Women KEEP it going with Racial “Preference”
Men could care less what race a woman is - Women seem to lead with that.
Often in chat rooms you’ll see men say “any women wanna talk?”
Meanwhile in those same rooms, the women say “any white men here?” - “hey room, 22 f latina looking for latinos Only!” - and so on…
It’s racist because it’s devisive and un-inclusive. Instead of bringing people together, this keeps us all apart - this act of Denying love or respect from someone because of their race is a silly practice that women NEED to stop engaging in.
I love women for all of their beauty, their sexy ways, and sometimes even the things they say. But this racist side of them often makes them hard to deal with if you yourself do not subscribe to the same racist ideas as they do - or if you try in any way to make them think about how rude, and inconsiderate these racial preferences are to the MEN who just wanna say hello.
… ok some men wanna do more than say hello - but you get my drift. These men are often ignored, and disrespected by these racist women - White men attempting to talk to black women who “hate white people” - may treat that white man with utter disrespect. And it’s just not right.
If women want to continue to view themselves as these great, intelligent creatures, then it’s time they start Acting like it by ridding themselves of racist practices that hold us back as a society from accomplishing bigger, better things As a society - and keeps us from reaching a more peace filled world.
Much can be said about violent crimes against women by men, who often are full of sexual frustrations, due to women constantly turning them down - While rejection is part of life, something can be said for rejection that isn’t based on race - and is based instead on lack of interest because of another, more logical reason.
Such as the guy not having a job - not having goals - not having a car - you know, things that can be fixed - or can be used to help that guy Do something to become more attractive to the women He likes; rather than his race - something he cannot change - something that may cause him lots of sadness and depression, since so many women (are indeed the same when it comes to this) are just not open to his race….
Great find, i hope this discussion opens some minds, and helps women realize that choosing a mate, based on race, is possibly the dumbest decision that she could make. It does not represent them as logical at all when this is their approach to dating. It instead, leads to the disrespect they get from men, who see them as just a piece of ass - due largely to their inability to show that they are much more than that… because they’re making decisions that have nothing to do with what’s Good for them, and is instead based on them loving their own race so much that they do not see the connection to the overall Human Race that we All belong to.
March 31st, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I have dated outside my race but I can say from experience that racism and bigotry still exists–even for those who are willing to date outside their race. I can only speak for my experience with Caucasian men. I was communicating with a white Italian man, a partner in a law firm whom I considered to be intelligent. He had previously dated a woman from Trinidad for approximately 5 years. So, I presumed that he was open to interracial dating. I sent my pic to him and he was pleased. In the process of my conversation with him, I asked whether skin tone made a difference. Shockingly he stated he did not want an “aunt jemima, or a darkie”. This showed me that this man was a total racist in spite of the fact that he dated a black woman and was willing to continue dating a black woman. It was the house/field nigger mentality. His comment was very hurtful and surprising. When I explained to him that his comment was offensive, he stated he did not realize it. He could have easily stated he preferred black women with fairer skin, but instead he used racist and bigoted remarks.
It just goes to show you–education cannot erase racism and bigotry either.
I am sorry for the black woman he dates because she may not have a clue of his deep rooted racist attitude
April 16th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Stick with your own race. Children shouldnt have to bear your burn of choices. If God wanted us all the same color or race he wouldnt have made us different.
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Most women are racists, so it only makes sense that they will date their own kind.
December 16th, 2008 at 10:13 am
um. not true. women care more about looks than guys. they just won’t admit to it. stick that in your survey.
April 1st, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Dating said: Stick with your own race. Children shouldnt have to bear your burn of choices. If God wanted us all the same color or race he wouldnt have made us different.
That’s the favorite quote of a racist. lol!!!