This study considers how online dating preferences reflect gendered racial inequality among same-sex daters. Research shows that heterosexuals reproduce gendered racial hierarchies through partner preferences, yet little work examines the preferences of sexual minorities, especially lesbians. Moreover, few studies examine racial heterophily (a preference for racial groups other than one’s own), which may influence interracial pairings. Using data from 4,266 Match.com dating profiles, we find that Asian, Latino, and Black lesbians and gays exhibit higher rates of racial heterophily than do Whites. Lesbians of color are less likely to self-exclude or to prefer Whites, and are more likely to not state a race preference than are minority gays. Self-exclusionary minority daters often discuss ideal masculinities and femininities in their profiles, suggesting that such exclusions are motivated by both racialized and gendered ideals for partners. Drawing on theories of homonormativity, we conclude that gays conform more to racialized, gendered ideals than do lesbians.
AsencioMarysol. 2011. “‘Locas,’ Respect, and Masculinity: Gender Conformity in Migrant Puerto Rican Gay Masculinities.” Gender & Society25(3):335–54.
2.
BakerPaul. 2005. Public Discourses of Gay Men. New York: Routledge.
3.
BoboLawrence DMassagliMichael P.2001. “Stereotyping and Urban Inequality.” Pp. 89–162 in Urban Inequality: Evidence from Four Cities, edited by O’ConnorA.TillyC.BoboL.New York: Russell Sage.
4.
BoellstorffTom. 2011. “But Do Not Identify as Gay: A Proleptic Genealogy of the MSM Category.” Cultural Anthropology26(2):287–312.
5.
Bonilla-SilvaEduardoFormanTyrone. 2000. “‘I Am Not a Racist but . . .’: Mapping White College Students’ Racial Ideology in the USA.” Discourse & Society11(1):58–85.
FarrDaniel. 2011. “Online Women-seeking-women Personal Ads and the Deployment of ‘Tomboy’ Identities.” Journal of Lesbian Studies15(4):493–506.
14.
FelicianoCynthiaLeeRennieRobnettBelinda. 2011. “Racial Boundaries among Latinos: Evidence from Internet Daters’ Racial Preferences.” Social Problems58(2):189–212.
15.
FelicianoCynthiaRobnettBelindaKomaieGolnaz. 2009. “Gendered Racial Exclusion among White Internet Daters.” Social Science Research38(1):39–54.
16.
FirebaughGlennDavisKenneth E.1988. “Trends in Antiblack Prejudice, 1972–1984: Region and Cohort Effects.” American Journal of Sociology94(2):251–72.
17.
GatesGary J.2006. Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Communities Survey. Los Angeles, CA: The Williams Institute.
18.
HanChong-suk. 2006. “Geisha of a Different Kind: Gay Asian Men and the Gendering of Sexual Identity.” Sexuality & Culture10(3):3–28.
19.
HitschGunter J.HortacsuAliArielyDan. 2010. “What Makes You Click? Mate Preferences in Online Dating.” Quantitative Marketing and Economics8(4):393–427.
20.
JacobsJerry A.LabovTeresa G.2002. “Gender Differentials in Intermarriage among Sixteen Race and Ethnic Groups.” Sociological Forum17:621–46.
21.
KalmijnMatthijs. 1998. “Intermarriage and Homogamy: Causes, Patterns, Trends.” Annual Review of Sociology24:395–421.
22.
KalmijnMatthijsFlapHenk. 2001. “Assortative Meeting and Mating: Unintended Consequences of Settings for Partner Choices.” Social Forces79(4):1289–312.
23.
KastanisAngelWilsonBianca. 2014. Race/Ethnicity, Gender and Socioeconomic Wellbeing of Individuals in Same-sex Couples. Los Angeles, CA: The Williams Institute.
24.
KennedyElizabeth LapovskyDavisMadeline D.1993. Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community. New York: Routledge.
25.
LinKen-HouLundquistJennifer. 2013. “Mate Selection in Cyberspace: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Education.” American Journal of Sociology119(1):183–215.
26.
LoganTrevon D.2010. “Personal Characteristics, Sexual Behaviors, and Male Sex Work: A Quantitative Approach.” American Sociological Review75(5):679–704.
27.
LundquistJennifer H.LinKen-Hou. 2015. “Is Love (Color) Blind? The Economy of Race among Gay and Straight Daters.” Social Forces93:1423–49.
28.
MarkeyPatrickMarkeyCharlotte. 2013. “Seasonal Variation in Internet Keyword Searches: A Proxy Assessment of Sex Mating Behaviors.” Archives of Sexual Behavior42(4):515–21.
29.
MartinSteven P.RobinsonJohn P.2007. “The Income Digital Divide: Trends and Predictions for Levels of Internet Use.” Social Problems54(1):1–22.
MooreMignon R.2008. “Gendered Power Relations among Women: A Study of Household Decision Making in Black, Lesbian Stepfamilies.” American Sociological Review73(2):335–56.
PhuaVons C.KaufmanGayle. 2003. “The Crossroads of Race and Sexuality: Date Selection among Men in Internet ‘Personal’ Ads.” Journal of Family Issues24(8):981–94.
34.
PykeKaren D.2010a. “An Intersectional Approach to Resistance and Complicity: The Case of Racialised Desire among Asian American Women.” Special Issue: Women, Intersectionality and Diasporas. Journal of Intercultural Studies31(1):81–94.
35.
PykeKaren D.2010b. “What Is Internalized Racial Oppression and Why Don’t We Study It? Acknowledging Racism’s Hidden Injuries.” Sociological Perspectives53(4):551–72.
RichAdrienne. 1980. “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence.” Signs5(4):631–60.
38.
RobnettBelindaFelicianoCynthia. 2011. “Patterns of Racial-ethnic Exclusion by Internet Daters.” Social Forces89(3):807–28.
39.
RosenfeldMichael J.KimByung-Soo. 2005. “Young Adult Relationship Values at the Intersection of Gender and Sexuality.” Journal of Marriage and Family71(3):510–25.
40.
RosenfeldMichael J.ThomasRueben. J.2012. “Searching for a Mate: The Rise of the Internet as a Social Intermediary.” American Sociological Review77(4):523–47.
41.
SautterJessica M.TippetRebecca M.MorganS. Philip. 2010. “The Social Demography of Internet Dating in the United States.” Social Science Quarterly91:554–75.
42.
SchmitzAndreas. 2012. “Elective Affinities 2.0? A Bourdieusian Approach to Couple Formation and Methodology of E-dating.” Social Science Research on the Internet (RESET)1(1):175–202.
43.
SchwartzChristine R.GrafNikki L.2009. “Assortative Matching among Same-sex and Different-sex Couples in the United States, 1990–2000.” Demographic Research21:843–78.
44.
SmithChristina A.StillmanShannon. 2002. “Butch/Femme in the Personal Advertisements of Lesbians.” Journal of Lesbian Studies6(1):45–51.
45.
SteinbuglerAmy C.2005. “Visibility as Privilege and Danger: Heterosexual and Same-sex Interracial Intimacy in the 21st Century.” Sexualities8(4):425–43.
46.
StokesJoseph. P.PetersonJohn. L.1998. “Homophobia, Self-esteem, and Risk for HIV among African American Men Who Have Sex with Men.” AIDS Education and Prevention10:278–92.
47.
ThorneAdrianCouplandJustine. 1998. “Articulations of Same-sex Desire: Lesbian and Gay Male Dating.” Journal of Sociolinguistics2(2):233–57.
48.
WalkerLisa L.EllerJackie L.2015. “Raising Capital: Claims of Masculinity among Men on Match.com.” Men and Masculinities19(1):42–63.
49.
WardJane. 2008. “Dude-sex: White Masculinities and ‘Authentic’ Heterosexuality among Dudes Who Have Sex with Dudes.” Sexualities11(4):414–34.
50.
WilsonBianca D. M.2009. “Black Lesbian Sexual Culture and Lesbian Gender: Celebration and Resistance.” Culture, Health & Sexuality11:297–313.
51.
WilsonPatrick A.ValeraPamelaVentuneacAnaBalanIvanRoweMattCarballo-DiéguezAlex. 2009. “Race-based Sexual Stereotyping and Sexual Partnering among Men Who Use the Internet to Identify Other Men for Bareback Sex.” Journal of Sex Research46(5):399–413.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
