Abstract
As the U.S. has become increasingly diverse, it might be expected that attitudes toward racial groups other than ones’ own should be improving. Interracial romantic relationships are the penultimate test of racial tolerance and acceptance, and these relationships are increasing in the U.S. The goal of this study was to investigate race and gender differences within the context of dating. The online study (N = 843, 51.1% male) examined if racial/ethnic dating preferences vary by race/ethnicity, if there are gender differences in racial/ethnic dating preferences, and if one race/ethnicity is the most preferred to date (after excluding one’s own race). Participants were asked if they would consider being in an interracial relationship and if so, they were further questioned about their racial dating preferences. Surprisingly, 88.7% of participants indicated that they have been, are currently in, or are open to being in an interracial relationship. Results indicated that women were more likely than men to say that they were not open to interracial dating, and White people were less open than other racial groups. According to social exchange theory, White and Asian people should have been the most preferred dating partners. However, our findings did not fully support this. Asian people were the least preferred dating partners while White people were the most preferred (excluding one’s own race) across all racial groups.
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Chappetta, K., Barth, J. Interracial Dating: A Closer Look at Race and Gender Differences in Heterosexual Dating Preferences. Sexuality & Culture 26, 1060–1073 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09931-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09931-9