By:Cameron Rodriguez

In this section I will be discussing the relationship between attraction, and racism and the effects of perceived racism on attraction. Attraction encompasses various ideas but can generally be seen as why we are attracted to some people and either indifferent or repelled by others. Racism is defined as prejudice and discrimination that is based on a person’s racial background, or institutional and cultural practices that promote the domination of one group over another group. Implicit racism may play a big role in the avoidance of others as some individuals will feel the need to avoid or feel weary around certain groups but will not be overtly racist against other groups. 

Race sometimes can have a lot to do with attraction. Racism and racial stereotypes may make certain groups seem more or less attractive than other groups. A study on racial stereotypes and interracial attraction was conducted by Clara Wilkins, Joy Chan, and Cheryl Kaiser (2011). The first part of the study’s findings suggested that Asians are stereotyped as being much more feminine and less masculine than other races which are characteristics that are considered appealing for women to have but not men. According to other studies conducted in the 1990s Asian women are presented in the media as exotic, subservient and generally nice, which were traits considered more attractive by some men. On the other hand men were represented as weak and insufficiently masculine, traits that where seen as unappealing. Previous studies have shown that men consider more feminine female faces more attractive than more masculine looking female faces and women prefer men who possess more masculine physical features to those with more feminine features. These racial and stereotypical traits of Asian men and women, for some people of other racial backgrounds, determine the attractiveness of Asian people. This, most likely, can be said for many people when looking at other races as well. Many people, of all races, may see a person’s attractiveness based off of stereotypes about people of their race. These stereotypes may make a person appear more appealing to be around or make a person seem like they should be avoided at all costs, even if the stereotypes have no merit and the people being judged have completely different personalities or appearances to the ones that are stereotyped of them. I think it is possible to assume, based on the results of this study, that some men will consider Asian women as superior in a sense to women of other races. This racist and stereotypical kind of thinking is possible for people of other races towards other races. Ina sense racist and stereotypical thinking can, oddly enough, have a either a negative and a positive effect on attraction. By positive I mean that it increases the attractiveness of a person of another race in the person’s eyes, not that it is good thing to do.

Perceived racism also has effects on attraction. Three studies were conducted to investigate where a person that stated a racial preference when dating would be considered by a participant as being more racist than someone who did not make a racial preference statement. It also investigated if the answer of the rating participant differed if they believed that racial preferences in dating was racist or not. When a person’s online dating profile stated that they had a racial preference, such as “no blacks or Asians” or, the participants in the experiment typically cited the target as being more racist, less attractive, less dateable, and were less willing to have relations with the person if they disclosed racial preferences in their online dating profile. Perceived racism here had a significantly negative effect on the attractiveness of the persons being judged. Participants who believed that having racial preferences was not racist rated the person as being equally attractive but still rated that they were less datable and less willing to have relations. This would mean that people, even they don’t see racial preferences as racist, may still perceive a person as being racist and therefore less attractive. 

 I don’t believe that I have ever heard of how Asian men and women are racial stereotyped to be feminine and non-masculine and therefore creating the idea that, at least for some people Asian men are unattractive and women are very attractive. This makes me think about how certain races may be explicitly considered more attractive than others and how they may be considered racially superior as a result by more biased people. Certain people may be seen as less desirable for dating due to their race even if it is not known what they are actually like in person. Perceived racism seems to make a person less likely to want to associate with another person even if the perceived racist act or statement is not intended to be racist. I don’t know if having racial preferences is truly racist or not as they sound somewhat racist but at the same time simply seem to define what is attract to a person and what doesn’t. I would assume that the language used to express a racial preference would be key to determining whether if the preference comes from simple attraction or actual racism. Another class I am in went over the human genome project which stated that humans are 99.9% genetically similar and just have a few appearance differences. I would imagine that if people used this when thinking about other people ideas like racial preferences might disappear. An example of the mock online profiles provided in “The “preference” paradox: Disclosing racial preferences in attraction is considered racist even by people who overtly claim it is not” (2019).

Citation

Wilkins, C. L., Chan, J. F., & Kaiser, C. R. (2011). Racial stereotypes and interracial attraction: Phenotypic prototypicality and perceived attractiveness of Asians. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17(4), 427.

Thai, M., Stainer, M. J., & Barlow, F. K. (2019). The “preference” paradox: Disclosing racial preferences in attraction is considered racist even by people who overtly claim it is not. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 83, 70-77.