Essay Sample on Racial and Cultural Discrimination of Women in Online Dating

Introduction

Online dating has taken root in many parts of the world with the advancement in technology. In the United States, 38% of those who are single are on online dating sites (Prieler and Kohlbacher 605). Online dating sites are platforms where people meet with individuals looking for a romantic or sexual relationship (Prieler and Kohlbacher 605). Today, people meet their partners on online dating websites and go on to start families. Online dating sites bring people from all walks of life with different races, sizes, careers, economic status, tastes, and preferences. Users create profiles that potential suitors scrutinize before initiating contact (Gunter, Hortacsu and Ariely 397). The profiles include personal information such as height, level of education, and age. Users are also allowed to upload photographs on their profiles. This paper seeks to determine if there is racial and cultural discrimination of women in dating sites. People tend to have an attraction towards people who have similar characteristics to them. Therefore, people prefer to have mates of the same race. The preference for same-race explains why mixed marriages in the United States are few. The 2000 Census data revealed that 94% of Blacks men married Black women. Only 4% of the marriages in the United States were found to be interracial (Kamenica and Simonson 117).

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A research conducted to determine the mate preferences in online dating found out that the site composed of 85.33% Whites, 1.62% Blacks, 4.53% Hispanic, 4.24% Asians, and 3.74% from other ethnic groups (Gunter, Hortacsu and Ariely 399). The population involved was from Boston and San Diego (Gunter, Hortacsu and Ariely 398). Only three percent of the contacts made by whites were to a black person. The low percentage of Blacks despite their relatively higher population in the cities was alarming. The research revealed that both genders preferred mates of the same race. White men tended to contact and view the profiles of white women more than black women by ten percent (Gunter, Hortacsu and Ariely 419).). In another research, it was reported that only twelve percent of the contacts made by whites were to other races with a staggering eighty-eight percent made to whites (Mendelsohn, Taylor, Fiore, and Cheshire 9).

The age of men was a factor in the preference for same-race preferences. Men above the age of fifty years had more preference for same-race than those younger than them (Gunter, Hortacsu and Ariely, 422). Mendelsohn et al. (9) similarly found out that only four percent of contacts made by young Whites were to Blacks. On the other hand, older users contacts and responses to Black users were only two percent. The fact that white men were less likely to contact Black women showed a preference for white women. This preference shows some underlying discrimination against women based on race. On the other hand, older users' contacts and responses to Black users were only two percent. The discrimination of Black women explains their low percentage of the overall population in the dating website.

Another aspect considered to determine racial discrimination in online dating was the reciprocation of messages. In online dating, a user views a profile and contacts the individual by sending a message. The user chooses to respond to the message or to ignore. Mendelsohn et al. (10) sought to analyze the messages reciprocated by both Whites and Blacks. The study found that Whites responded to nineteen percent of messages from White users but only responded to sixteen percent of messages from Black users (Mendelsohn et al. 10). Black men, on the other hand, reciprocated to twenty-five percent of messages from White users and twenty-two percent from Black users (Mendelsohn et al. 10). From the data, it is clear that messages from Black women received less response than that from White users. This difference in response points towards discrimination of Black women in online dating. An interesting observation from the data is that Black women were more open to dating White women. The US Census Bureau reported that the ratio of Black Husband/White wife to White Husband/Black wife was 2:1 showing how white men are less likely to marry Black women (Mendelsohn et al. 10).

The research also investigated the cultural preferences for men (Gunter, Hortacsu and Ariely, 424). The research revealed that men preferred women with similar education levels and religious ties. Religious ties are seen from the fact that a Catholic man would prefer a Catholic woman over a Protestant (Gunter, Hortacsu and Ariely, 424). Political views were also important with men seeking women with similar views. Democrats were attracted to each other and the same for Republicans (Gunter, Hortacsu and Ariely, 424).

Kamenica and Simonson (117) sought to find out the reason for same-sex preferences and discrimination of other races in online dating. One of the main reason was the background of the individuals. The old generation was brought up when interracial marriages were illegal. They, therefore, developed negative attitudes towards interracial marriages hence their preference for the same race. The neighborhood where people grew up was also a factor for same-race preferences. People who grew up in neighborhoods with mixed races are more likely to date someone from another race. However, some people carry tension from their past interactions with other races that limit them from interracial dating.

In online dating, people judge their potential mates not only on their appearances but also race. Black users receive lower rating due to their color despite ranking highly on dating sites (Rudder). The range of women's scores indicated the upper bound of black women was the middle of white women, Asian women, and Latinas (Rudder). Black women are in the disadvantage when compared with other races because of their skin color. People have gender stereotypes of their respective cultures and unwittingly express them through online venues. The power of prejudice is so strong that Black ladies can be hurt and start to doubt themselves for something they inherited from their parents. One having a preference toward his/her race is acceptable, but it does not mean other ethnicities are not good enough. Every ethnicity has their advantage and disadvantage, and what causes the difference is the person's personality not his/her skin color.

Conclusion

In conclusion, online dating is marred by racial discrimination. It is human for people to be attracted to people similar to them. In online dating, people have more preference for same-race dating. White men contact and respond to messages from white women more frequently than Black women. The discrimination of Black women has been attributed to the background of individuals. The United States has experienced transformation in the way Blacks are treated. Blacks came to the United States as slaves but were eventually emancipated. During the years of slavery, interracial marriages were highly condoned. The culture of same-race marriages is one that developed years ago and has stuck up to date. The studies included in this paper have indicated that black people especially black women are underrated and underappreciated in online dating. Black women are subject to discrimination from both white and Black men. When it comes to culture, people are also attracted to people who they share a similar culture. Culture is in the form of political views, educational background, and religious beliefs. The growth of technology means that online dating will continue to grow in popularity and there is a need to address the racial discrimination by users. Racial discrimination is like a pest that continues to devour society. Unless it is plucked out and destroyed hatred and division will continue to define society.

Works Cited

Fisman, Raymond, and Iyengar, Sheena. "Racial preferences in dating." The Review of Economic Studies 75.1 (2008): 117-132.

Hitsch, Gunter J., Ali Hortacsu, Ali, and Ariely, Dan. "What makes you click?-Mate preferences in online dating." Quantitative Marketing and Economics 8.4 (2010): 604-614.

Mendelsohn, Gerald A., Taylor, Lindsay, Fiore, Andrew, and Cheshire, Coye. "Black/White dating online: Interracial courtship in the 21st century." Psychology of Popular Media Culture 3.1 (2014): 2-18.

Prieler, Michael, and Florian Kohlbacher. "Face-ism from an international perspective: gendered self-presentation in online dating sites across seven countries." Sex Roles 77.9-10 (2017): 604-614.

Rudder, Christian. Dataclysm: Who we are (when we think no one's looking). Random House Canada, 2014.