Racism is an extremely prevalent issue in modern culture. This can stem from any variety of misconceptions about a race or about those who identify with that race. In 2009, OKCupid, a popular dating site, released statistics about how each race was perceived on the site. They simply calculated how each race rated other races. The results were astonishing.
White men viewed Asian women as 6 percent above the average women, black women 18 percent below the average women, Latina women 2 percent above the average women and white women 10 percent above the average women. Whereas, white women rated Asian men 12 percent below the average male, black men 6 percent below the average male, Latino men 1 percent above the average male and white men 17 percent above the average male.
Latino men viewed Asian women as 7 percent above the average women, Black women 22 percent below the average women, Latina women 6 percent above the average women and white women 9% percent above the average women. Latino women viewed Asian men as 16 percent below the average male, 4 percent below the average male, Latino men 11 percent above the average male and white men 10 percent above the average male.
Black men viewed Asian women 3 percent above the average women, black women 3 percent below the average women, Latina women 3 percent above the average women, and white women 3 percent below the average women. However, black women rated Asian men 11 percent below the average male, black men 16 percent above the average male, Latino men 4 percent below the average male and white men as average for a male.
Lastly, Asian men viewed Asian women 11 percent above the average women, black women 16 percent below the average women, Latina women 1 percent below the average women and white women 7 percent above the average women. As opposed to Asian women who viewed Asian men 10 percent above the average male, black men 14 percent below the average male, Latino men 12 percent below the average male and white men 16 percent above the average male.
These studies were then done again in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 (results are shown below).
These results showed that, in general, white men and white women seemed to do the best ratings wise across both genders. However, men also seemed to view Asian women significantly well. So, why is this? This may be due to a specific individual not being able to control their "type," however, it may also be due to some races being seen as a fetish. The mindset of “I’ve never been with a(n) _____ women/man before!” or, “since you’re black, you must have a big penis!” or, “I’ve heard Asian men have smaller penises, is that true?” or, “I just love ____ men/women!” continues to perpetuate these fetishes.
So, what are the implications of this, outside of the dating world? As OKCupid stated, “here are many situations that might not be explicitly romantic, but are nonetheless a lot like a first date. A job interview. Trying to rent an apartment. When you meet your freshman roommates. Anytime you’re trying to make an impression on a stranger.” Furthermore, this helps to shed some light at what society considers ‘beautiful’. OKCupid also studied that by adding "+ white" to an individual's race, their scores when up dramatically (shown below).
It is no secret modern culture has this warped view of what is beautiful. If you open any page of the People’s Most Beautiful Man and Woman, you’ll most likely be bombarded with photos of white men and women. This mindset has severely negative implications for young boys and girls who are not white and are growing up believing they are not beautiful.
So, what can you do? By simply being aware of the racial prejudices that are implicated in online dating, you are one step ahead of others. Further, by educating and speaking out about social issues, such as these, we allow our voice to be heard. It may be hard to call someone out when they inadvertently fetishize a race; however, it is even harder for an individual of that race to overcome the implications of that fetish or ideal of their race.
