My English and Scots genetic code is crying out - destroy me! It's the polite thing to do! My family's light eyes and freckles, blonde, brown and ginger hair, the step of our gait, the tone of our laughter - it's got to disappear from this earth forever! It's so obvious - our fair coloring disqualifies us as human beings. We have no right to the reproduce! Take our jobs, our women our land - while in return offering nothing that we want. What a great bargain!

Off yourself now O'Dell - help end the suckiness of your own horrible whiteness of being.

I don't even know why it surprises me anymore when White People act all shocked...

In addition ... the fact that you think it's not a shock only goes to show your preconceived notions i.e. the physical superiority of whites. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just pointing out something to raise your consciousness, because obviously you have no idea how deep your preconceptions are!

For someone who hasn't seen the data before it could very well be surprising, since other races also find whites more preferable than their own race!

In any case you made your point about preference but you say it like you have great contempt for non-whites. When you say "Other races want to be with whites, whites want to be with whites. Thats how the world works" you sound so self absorbed. Yes, white's are so much more superior, you said it, and we all know it already.

But at the same time, the world is not ALL about white people and yourself you know ... you need to get over yourself.

Well that is utter trash and a sick thing to say. This is actually very common and very natural for non-whites kids who grow up around white kids. Anyone with half a brain can see why, but I think that excludes most of the people here. So I explain:

The fact is no one wants to be different. It's natural to want to be like the people around you. And when you are picked on for being different, it even further presses the issue. So, when you are suppose to "assimilate" and behave the same as others around you, it's kind of hard knowing that your obviously different looks give other children a much different impression of you than if you were white. Sure you can dress like the others (well you have to or you get weird looks), but other kids still see you're different. This is OK in say primary school but it's becomes much worse in high school. My own experience was that the majority of white kids would stick in their own groups, while a few "weirder" or "nerdier" white kids might still be pals with ethnic kids.

So, it's not freaky or weird. It's natural given the circumstances, and it's really heartbreaking that any kid has to go through all this.

In movies we still hearwarming stories of white kids being bullied etc, but I think there's another story to tell but no one has the guts to.

Also there are some disturbing comments accompanied by dirty middle school language by so many commentators here who are irrationality offended by Jolie's article.

I don't think anyone doubts anybody else's right to be attracted to who they are attracted to! Sexual attraction is as unchangeable as your eye color, it's hardwired. Some people claim "familiarity" and "cultural" reasons for exclusive race dating, but I doubt it. And if that is the case - I doubt it - then it could signify narrow-mindedness, not that it's a crime of course.

It seems like everybody like's whites. You'd expect any sane person to take it as as complement. But no, so many whites, if not most, continue to whinge at everything. Nothing is good enough for them. If anything, they find that other races being attracted to them is "creepy" or sick. Well, these are the same people who say that you can't help who you're attracted to.

Amazing...

I obviously implied this (please read the above comment), but the white-white and any-white attraction pattern is most likely primal and genetic. Whites, in general, tend to look physically superior to other races, and that simply drives the sexual preference. It's nothing more than that.

Also again I'd like to stress - white people definitely have an advantage in society, both physical and intellectual they seem seem unwilling to admit.

Studies have shown that physically better looking people are simply more successful in jobs - this is NOT an excuse for things like affirmative action nor am I trying to imply any favorable action should be given to minorities- only making a logically sound statement. Also, a study in Australia found that people with non-Western names on their resume have a significantly harder time getting an interview.

So it seems that whites are probably higher on the evolutionary ladder, taking into account of not only intellectual achievements but the fact that sexual selection favours them.

P.S Again, I am not white. I'm Asian. I admit I it was pretty much impossible to get a date with white girls in high school. Hey and I'm 6 foot and not that bad looking (for an Asian anyway, as many whites think). And that dating problem was the same story for most other Asians I knew...

So - a message to whites. Know what you have, know you're privileged and quit complaining.

However, I doubt sexual attraction has anything to do education or anything that can be acquired, so the behavior of white males/females cannot be labeled racist.

It's not useful to just dispute to data to let's assume it's accurate for now.

What the data says is that whites have a sexual preference for their own race, and other races tend to have a preference for the white race of both genders.

From this we *could* construct a hypothesis that white people are objectively more attractive than other races on average. It would not be an illogical conclusion, given the data. This would not be surprising since in highly multicultural countries such as Brazil, and to a much lesser extent the US, UK and Australia, you see mostly white people in the professional fashion industry (models), usually to almost total exclusion of Asians, Blacks and other races. While many continue to generate new and strange reasons as to why this is the case in the fashion industry and beyond - it may just be because white people have some contempt or disinterest (subconscious or not) for the less superior looks of other races (because it is the case), while other races hold whites in high regard.

I don't think whites really understand and/or appreciate the privilege they hold in society, either their own, or others. Whites have demonstrated their intellectual prowess. They also know that they have superior looks. However, whites aren't willing to admit that despite this, they have an advantage in any society. And that is what bothers me and many others, not racism. Appreciate what you have for god's sake, and stop complaining.

A long time so called white supremacist and former kkk member David Duke as well as Don Black recently said that he has never been so encouraged in his work as in the last few years. If your wondering why, it is because more white people, particularly white men are realizing that they will never stop being blamed for the misfortunes of others, no matter how fair and just they are on the inside. Right wing groups are the only elements of society that do not bash white males.

Also another thing, all of you who say that this study is unreliable and inaccurate would likely not be saying that if it showed different findings. For example if it showed that blacks got the most responders then you who say it's inaccurate would probably swear by it.

Your welcome.

I learned a long time ago not to bother wasting time with online dating sites because of this. For the most part if you're not a white man or a very attractive Hispanic man, you're not going to get many responses.

For all the talk about black women being fat, ugly, etc, etc I see FEW women (and men) of other races who actually look like supermodels so it's not like black women are missing out on sh-t.

THAT SAID, I will say this. I NEVER replied to anyone who put racial preferences! I mean, hey...I prefer Mediterranean/Mixed looking men. I'm not exactly into WASPS. But I think closing yourself off to certain ethnic groups is just shallow and shows, quite frankly, that you haven't been exposed to different types of people. If you find me attractive and have no idea that many Middle Eastern women have my features, then it pretty much says that you aren't cultured. And that's a HUGE turn-off!

Also, how do we know that the Black females who were sending the dating invitations were hotties? I'm a straight White American male, and if a gal's hot, hey, she's hot no matter what race.

Run the same study but make each female be a supermodel, dancer, or Reef Bikini Girl. THEN look @ the response rates. A hot chick's a hot chick, regardless of race.

I think there is more to the story : ) I am white.

And Yes ladies always have a better chance of getting a reply to a sent message.

I’ll reckon more on it.

the problem is, many Americans are indoctrined from a young age to find black people less attractive, notice i said American and not white. This could even apply to Indians, Thais, Chinese, Greeks and other non African peoples.

The point is, many people are racist. That's a fact. America is racist. im not saying people are holding klan meetings in their yards, but many people still do harbor negative feelings towards black people. It even seems many find darker skin to be less attractive, especially on a woman.

Yes this sucks for us as Black people, but if anything, it should only make us see how resolutely commited we should be in teaching our children to love and accept themselves in this society. Right now is anti black woman bashing age, you will hear any and every lame excuse ( online at least) as to why people do not like, prefer black women, black women are not cool, not attractive, domineering, ugly, black men are sexy, hot, cool. this is the stereotype. notice how noone is making a stink of how many white men prefer Asian women? i wonder why

fortunately, a great number of Americans also have eyes and brains and can use the powers of deductive reasoning to not lump all of us into a monolithic group. I am a black woman, i am pretty, creative, smart, fun loving, and humble, i was on a dating site and had no problem getting dates, many men who were interested in my profile were black, white, hispanics a few asians and Indians. so that goes to show you... many people are not as stupid as these statistics and polls make us out to be. that being said. Black women, please just hold your heads up high and continue living life, if you have something to offer, are smart down to earth, try to keep yourself attractive, etc. there is no reason you cannot find a man.

I'll be meeting up with one of the black women this weekend for coffee.

Thank you, Professor, for your post above. I agree with you completely.

I often ponder what it is liked to have a real boyfriend. I would like to know what it is like to hold hands, go on dates, even have sex. Such things I can only dream about. Unfortunately, school is my first priority and boys last. I fear I too will be one of those women in her 30s, successful but childless and no husband. I do not want to grow old with nobody :(

I may not be light skin or have silky hair (my hair is long though) but I can be the perfect partner. Does personality not count anymore?

Ann :)

"God,Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
The courage
to change the things I can
and the wisdom
to know the difference"

sounds like some angry non white guuy or angry non white girl to me that is trying so hard to try and find out how to change the way things are..

Ultimately you can only change yourself...and it really sounds like a creepy desire to me...

Not LOVE but desire to have carnal desires taken care of by someone who may look pretty to you

Whats going to happen when whites are gone?

Are you going to eat eachother alive?

this is sick

As a cultural anthropologist who specializes in race, gender, class, and ethnic identity, I have the authority to speak on behalf of this simple, yet elucidating study. Oh, yes, I'm also in the OKCupid community; so, I can speak from both sides of the equation.

The following is a step-by-step short-course on why white people prefer to date white people and why non-whites prefer whites.

1. Take a good look on the ads you see in magazines, internet, TV, etc; then take a good look on TV shows, films, and any other mainstream entertainment venue. What races do you see? What kind of jobs, social position, and roles do they take?

2. Now, look at the non-whites, and pay attention to all the parameters I posed for the first item (that's #1.).

3. Now, what were the social roles, economic, and political positions for these two groups (that is: whites and non-whites) 100 years ago? What about 200 years ago?

4. Now, tell how have these two groups changed in the past 200 years?

5. OK, you all may be huffing and puffing, with all sorts of excuses and reasoning, but let's see: 200 years ago those in power were European (read it white), male, and powerful. And non-whites were regarded as (different degrees attributed to different groups - you have to take cultural anthropology to know which): savages, barbaric, uncivilized, and downright too stupid to ever achieve the position of the white, European male (girls, that means you were below them too).

6. So, if you were non-white and non-male, you were not seen as: intelligent, civilized, successful, powerful, smart, good-looking, and economically viable (do you see this connection in the ideas many of the people who have posted here?).

7. Then, if you are not familiar, check out the meaning of "white man's burden" and "civilizing mission" - these were the precepts that established and excused European colonization and destruction of many other cultures in the world, who were, of course, non-white (if we are going to speak Europe only, we must look into religion as a way to favor one group over the other, i.e. Catholicism vs. Protestantism).

8. So, now you have the picture of the perpetuating concept in the collective consciousness that dictates: to better one self is to become white. For this reason, non-whites prefer whites - to "better one's race". Please, be advised that nothing is absolute, we always had and always will have those who do not subscribe to these ideals for one reason or another. And whites prefer whites because the idea of mingling with non-whites is to lower one's race (please, please, hold your stones).

9. To little german: Brazil is the exemplification of what the idea of "better one's race" means - to mix is to improve one's race, yet the resources and opportunities still regarded to one group only: white and male, and that is why it failed: because economic discrimination coupled with racism. Perhaps you would highly benefit from a little reading on Brazil before spewing your blatant ignorance, and if you are going to quote a foreign word, try using the dictionary - that is favelas, and not "flavelas" (but again, your subconscious may be showing a "flavor" for them...). Yet, the characteristic of the majority of individuals who visit Brazil is: white and male (surprise, surprise...).

10. For those who would like to learn further, here's is a film that will take only 90 minutes of your time but will show you, right at the first 30 minutes, what the concept of "white man's burden" means, why the need to "drive the indian out of these people" was necessary, and why, even though one became white, that person could not and cannot access the resources reserved for whites only. Ah, the film:
RABBIT PROOF FENCE by Phillip, Noyce, and if you want to go further, see another one by this guy: CATCH A FIRE on South African Apartheid.

Now, everyone here should take these simple, yet profound statistical data (data is the plural of datum) to heart, together with the responses posted; they speak thousands and the truth about the American racial beliefs. That is: racism.

Yes, my friends, racism still alive and well, even if it is not consciously expressed, as some of the posters here, it is still working in full force in the subconscious choice one makes for a mate.

My only recommendation for the managers of this site is to refrain from using racial demeaning wording. Let's face it, we cannot change that which we continue to replicate.

Me? I'm Brazilian. I'm looking for a man who has the same level of education as I have and who can look beyond this destructive ideal. No, I'm not looking for a particular race - but for a particular character. And Jeff, no offence, we are not a match.

Good luck to you all.

QUIT WHINING, YA PUSSY!!!!!

1) The author of this article has obviously been rejected by a lot of white guys.

2) George is a pissed-off asian guy who can't score a white girl because he spends all his time on the internet flaunting his bitterness and low self-confidence. Get a new hobby, bro!

I think we should stop looking for racism under every rock, nook, and cranny. Everyone has a "type." If I lived in Tokyo, I can tell you for damn sure my "type" would quicktime become slanted eyes and jet-black hair.

that apparent anomaly deserves more study than the predictable preference of
whites for other whites.

i.e., it's not odd to prefer one's own race;
the startling fact is the preference for a race that
is NOT one's own.

& it does strike me as racist, or at least
pc with blinders on, that the conclusions did not
mention this anomaly, if only to explain it away.
i cannot imagine that the interpreters of the data
counted on us overlooking this fact that renders absurd all the rest of
their findings.

We accept that most people only want to date a certain gender. Why can't we accept that many of us only want to date a certain race as well? Is it the new 'civil right' that I have to date a black woman for each white woman I date?

Get over yourselves.

http://ourtimepress.com/2009/12/27/a-detective-story-tawana-brawley-an-open-case/

Yes, they want you all right and you're just walking into their arms and giving up on the rest of us.

Lets forget about the variables for a while and ask us one simple question 'If I upload my data on a dating website, how likely it is to get a response'. Appearance has lot of weight in online dating and that forces the viewer to click without much going into details.

Seconldy, I don't believe this data is encouraging the concept of racism. If we look at it as a neutral observer, this data is focusing on 'impulse action' and raise internal desires to click on an attractive profile of a male or female.

We all have ideals. For example I am an Asian. My ideal is a white blond girl, with long hair below shoulders, figure of an hour glass, 5'6", no dimples on face, slim waist and neck, blue eyes, and smily features even when she isn't smiling.

When I look at other profiles, in my subconscious, thats the ideal that try to match with other photos, when I haven't talked to anyone yet. This ideal is flexible, and molds to more realistic and emotional personality, once we start communicating. And thats what I found when I showed my seriousness in a girl from Turkey. She is 5'6", not blonde, very fair, not that slim, but good looking, not a glamorous girl.

So this data is actually showing those figures in which communication hasn't started yet. After communication, we become more realistic and flexible in accepting others. In every data we observe there are some hidden assumptions from the author, and in my view, this data again is highly logical and based on ture figures.

I have discussed few things in my personal blog: Dating Site Features: The Ultimate Resources for Matchmaking. I hope it will clarify my concept further.

Can we all agree it would be a great idea?

I didn't run the numbers, but just eye-balling them, I'd say that white guys have the smallest z-score (standard deviation) of replies across the races, potentially making them the most open minded, which would sort of make them the most deviant (sorry, could resist) if that were the case. Maybe someone will run the numbers and tell us what's what.

Of course, it must be fun to write a blog post titled "White Guys Suck", particularly if you've ever been burned by one. Wish I could write one called, "Blond Cheerleaders Suck" and have some stats to back it up ;-)

It's people like yourself that make the LGBT community look like some deranged rabid moonbats. You can't be taken seriously. How could you find the nerve to post such racially inflammatory drivel?

Where's your outrage at the fact that people in Botswana, 98% of the time find their partners in Botswana? Huh?

Or perhaps is it something deeper, or online dating as a whole? Let's face it, we imagine that online dating to be easier then shaking someone's hand in the street because it can be a matter of a photo, profile, and some of the things we are looking for with the convenience of a search engine/click of a button.

I think with online dating, we limit ourselves because we naturally will select people who don't seem foreign. We don't get to throw ourselves into the fire of life as much because, of course, life won't give us a photo of someone, a profile, and their stats. Online dating can just be another excuse to harbor us, keep us indoors with our lattes, and our slippers and robes. It makes us more reliant on technology, which makes us lazy and desperate to lean on its convenience so much more.

My overall advice... GO OUTSIDE! Find a black woman, find a white woman, or any woman. Play with chance... life is never judged by the click of a button, or it will be unless we take control. lol I am canceling my okcupid account and going to the neighborhood B52 love shack!

I am a white woman, and a member of OKCupid, so I assume I have contributed to this data to some extent.
The majority of the messages I receive I try to reply to, however it may not be for a week or so as I don't log in very often. My profile states that I am looking for new friends and long distance penpals (and as you'd know if you've looked at the site, this information is very easy to find and read). I have also specified on the settings "User must NOT be looking for casual sex" as I'm not interested in this. My matches come up as male, female, straight, gay and bi, because I have specified that I don't have a preference, since I'm looking for people to talk to.

The messages I receive are from a huge range of different racial groups. As I said, I try to reply to all of them. Unless I find them insulting or crude (however, depending on my mood at the time you may receive a scathing comment in response before I block you). Looking over the messages I have sent and received, those that have developed into longer conversations are with white men. I get messages telling me I'm beautiful and sexy and blah blah blah, to which I will reply "Thank you for the compliments, however I'm not looking for a relationship or anything more than friendship" along with a comment about something from their profile that interested me. The number of people who don't then reply again is probably somewhere around 80%. Fair enough, no skin off my nose, we aren't there for the same things obviously.
The race of the people who do then respond is usually white. With one exception, who was mixed race, I believe his father was Turkish.
The number of messages I've had that I will not reply to is still very high (I'd say around one third of all the messages I receive), because they involve asking me if I want "sexy fun times" (yes, those words exactly), asking how big my chest is, asking if I swallow etc. Questions you wouldn't dream of asking someone face to face, yet are apparently fine online. So these get no response. The races of these authors I have no idea of, I skim the message, block and delete without a second look.
The conversations I've had have included Pratchett (and fantasy in general), Gorean lifestyles, good music, taste in films etc. They develop because these people (usually men) ask questions and give answers, and their responses to my messages provoke me to type more. Race matters not one jot, because I am there for friends, so don't even notice looks. My best friend is Bengali, my ex-boyfriends and crushes include one mixed race guy (African father, Phillipino mother), a Bengali man, white men, redheads (who, let's face it get the worst press of all, and it seems to be socially acceptable because it isn't a race), black men, and some Asian men.

My point is, I am open to dating other races, I obviously have some preferences, I prefer darker hair and eyes, but I'm not blind to blue eyes, green eyes, red heads, blondes, whatever. My dating history, if you were privy to all the details, would show you that there isn't a physical type I've focused on. OKCupid's data however, suggests I'm primarily interested in white men, because I fall into more conversations with them, and on this basis so many of you are willing to jump to the conclusion that I'm racist. Thank you for not judging me with horribly flawed data.

we're sick and tired

And as a black man I find it sad that black women would even go after a white man especially with the history of how white men have treated them in this country....

The results SHOULD be that black women replied just as low to them....

And the Asians crack me up they WISH they were white...its like wow do you have an identity???

Let white folks date each other....stop trying to be white....

The article itself is based upon dogmatic viewpoints of a raceless society.

tol⋅er⋅ance  [tol-er-uhns]
–noun
1. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
2. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own.
3. interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint.

If white people "suck", because they don't date black people...then, what would RWW say of Jewish people, who are even LESS likely to date blacks?

Seems like a double standard. Slam whites, yet, ignore the fact that many ethnic groups prefer their own.

Also, what about black men who claim to prefer white women? The fact that they date interracially doesn't change the fact that they express a RACIAL / racist preference.

This study linked below included Jews as a religion, but, there were no cases of Jew-black relationships for study.

It basically concludes that white women who don't meet conventional standards of attractiveness are more likely to date outside their race.

Gendered Racial Exclusion among White Internet Daters

paa2008.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=80046

that being said, i can't blame someone for preferring to date within their own culture or even having "preferences". i am a black woman who was on a dating site and i think i got about 50/50 responses myself. black men, white, hispanic and even a few asian.

of course there are those men who would not consider me solely based on my ethnicity, but those arent the kind of men im looking for anyway

Instead of hiding behind technicalities like study design and statistical significance of results, it's better to accept the results using an open mind and some common sense.

I can accept if someone, white or not, who is in an interracial relationship has an insightful comment. but some of the comments above are only an example of immature defense mechanism.

I think the bigger is issue is the apparent rejection of their own people some other races are displaying. Just look at how abysmally low the reply rate is of black males to black females. Or how black men are least likely to want to date only black women. And how asian women seem to be chasing every other race but their own.

So instead of all finger pointing at whites for being "racist" why not look at yourselves and wonder why you don't find your own culture/people attractive.

I personally am more interested in white females, this is for cultural reasons and just plain familiarity because it's what i'm used to. Not any kind of hatred for other people who are another skin colour.

It's digusting how the term "racist" gets thrown around so easily now days. Stop demonizing people for simply choosing who they are attracted to.

Really no surprise.

If you were halfway intelligent yourself, you would look at you own words and say, "Wow it is literally impossible for ALL black women to be this way, maybe I should re-evaluate my racist statements before I make myself look like and idiot." Sir please try to use your brain next time. You disparage black women but I wonder if you would go and choose a date from women who in general fill/cover their bodies with makeup and chemicals, waste money on expensive surgeries, and nearly deform themselves to possess the features of one. If you don't want an overweight, loud, chick with an afro and subpar intelligence then find a woman that DOES NOT fit those qualities. Black women come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and features. You cannot classify all black women in your ill thought out category. There are plenty of fit/slim, highly intelligent, quiet/respectful black women out there. Come on down to my university, there are plenty, but judging by your horrible halo-effecting viewpoint, they would probably take one look at you and head in the opposite direction. I for one wouldn't even waste brain power on you... as a matter of fact I will waste no more.

Let's go back and do the numbers again, this time comparing OKCupid's figures for the response rates black men and women achieve when sending messages to potential mates of various racial and ethnic groups:

BLACK WOMEN BLACK MEN
Native American - 41% / Black - 28%
Other - 41% / Native American - 27%
Middle Eastern - 40% / Pacific Islanders - 25%
Black - 37% / Other - 24%
Indian - 37% / Indian - 21%
Hispanic - 36% / Middle Eastern - 21%
Pacific Islanders - 32% / White - 21%
White - 32% / Hispanic - 19%
Asian - 31% / Asian - 17%

In other words, even the LOWEST response rate received by black women from various racial and ethnic groups (31% from Asian men) was STILL higher than the HIGHEST response rate received by black men (28% from black women). But apparently the dating plight of black men is of no interest to OKCupid. Or, even worse, they assumed that the dating plight of black men would be of no interest to their readers- white, black or whatever. AND THEY WOULD PROBABLY BE RIGHT IN THAT UNFORTUNATE ASSUMPTION. After all, what is the value of black men in American society? Our value is close to ZERO (except, of course, when it comes to sports and entertainment). We can't even claim "worst position" even in situations that clearly demonstrate that we are in the "worst position."

OKCupid engaged in what the magicians call "misdirection." They suckered the public into looking in one direction when they should have been looking in another direction. American media does this all the time when it comes to the plight of black men as compared to that of black women. For example, based on the media stories to come out in past years about rates of HIV/AIDS you would be right to assume that black women suffer from higher rates of HIV/AIDS than black men-- and you would be wrong. In fact, the rate for black women is 60.6 (cases per 100,000), while that of black men is 136.8 (see the CDC website and this page in particular: http://twurl.nl/b6qxvp).

Moreover, the folks at OKCupid even decided to point out that black women were not even valued by black men, when it comes to the responses they received from potential mates ("Essentially every race—including other blacks—singles them out for the cold shoulder.") Yet a perusal of OKCupid's own numbers would show that when it comes to responding to potential mates, black men respond LEAST to black women AND black women respond LEAST to black men. The rate of response from black women to black men is higher than vice-versa, but black men and women are BOTH LAST on each other's agendas. See for yourself:

BLACK WOMEN BLACK MEN
Pacific Islanders - 39% / Pacific Islander - 57%
White - 38% / Asian - 55%
Middle Eastern - 37% / Middle Eastern - 55%
Native American - 34% / Other - 52%
Asian - 34% / Indian - 51%
Indian - 34% / White - 51%
Other - 32% / Native American - 50%
Hispanic - 31% / Hispanic - 46%
Black - 28% / Black - 37%

That the folks at OKCupid could write an entire blog on the subject of race and dating and single out the plight of black women while ignoring that of black men is despicable. Sadly, it is also typical. Or perhaps the across-the-board stereotype of the "no good black man" is so profoundly and thoroughly ingrained that their pathetic response rate from potential mates is to be expected and is, therefore, of no consequence.

And that SUCKS.

Agreed. This is the typical white woman's hero here in America..not a black male...this is the kind of guy the white females worship...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Peterson

"White males aren't xenophobes based on the data you've shown,"

Agreed. White females are!

"I am a white male and I don't think black women are attractive at all. Not only do I not find their facial features attractive, but a lot are overweight, loud, have afros, and possess subpar intelligence. Why would I want to date someone like that?"

Especially when white women are busy chasing Asian women!

Text: http://www.bus.umich.edu/NewsRoom/ArticleDisplay.asp?news_id=17234

Vid: http://www.ns.umich.edu/podcast/video.php?id=1157

The metrics they use and the work they do with education, income, and cultural questions against the actual behavior (what we are seeing here) will ultimately be very useful for whoever ends up owning it.

....and then complains when they are treated like garbage by the real white people..eg. Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bacchan the Indian movie actors...pretty disgraceful really!

I'm a 28 year old gay Indian grad student working on my PhD at a reputed school. I'm funny, well read, well traveled, and not bad to look either. I work out five days a week and keep myself in good shape. Unlike this description, I am always down to earth and well grounded.

I'm looking for someone to share my life, spend some meaningful time instead of random hookups but turns out the dating fairy has not been kind to me. As I approach guys the most common reaction has been, "Did you say you were Indian? Nice
knowing you." It is as if there is an "Indian curse" that I am not aware of. I don't know why the guys who initially appear interested go cold turkey the moment I mention I am Indian.

Before you dismiss my observation as irrational, I tried a little experiment. For a little while, I went around introducing myself as Caribbean since Indians and Caribbeans share similar physical features and I'm fluent in French and Spanish. Now there were a lot more guys interested in dating me. However, I felt ashamed at this. I am proud of my origins and I think I should be accepted for who I am --- the gays should know this better.

In short, I know who I am and what I want to be. If there is anyone who can see beyond race & ethnicity, I certainly know he's not going to walk from a dating website.

This data certainly suggests that there is a bias towards whiteness as being favorable in a mate. It does not suggest any "suckiness" of a race to anyone who wasn't firmly dedicated to finding it already.

And yes, I can spot a Nazi or a fascist, and everyone else can too. Here's how: find a statement or article that blames everything on Jews, check the origin of the work, and when you see a white name (which as I said, is 98% of the time), there you have found yourself a Nazi. You are a clear Nazi..we dont know yet whether O'Dell is a Jew. As I said, I can spot a Nazi from a distance and you are one!

And yes, I can spot a Zionist, and everyone else can too. Here's how: find a statement or article that has been spun to an anti-white bias, check the origin of the work, and when you see a Jewish name (which as I said, is 98% of the time), there you have found your Zionist. But sometimes, they switch their names to more "white-sounding" names such as O'Dell to make it less obvious.

Only Nazis know a true Zionist.

"I am not racist, but I just don't have a sexual attraction to dark skinned women. Don't assume its racist."

Your right of course. My right is to assume you are a racist. I will respect your please respect mine.

"Not being sexually attracted to darker complexion isn't racist, its just Darwin's way of saying "if you keep it up, you'll only be attracted to blood relatives" but I didn't write that, some guy who hacked wikipedia 3 years did."

And they will expect the rest of us to pay for their consequences..deformed children, people with unusual sickness etc. Good point!

Oh wait, no.

I'll agree with most of the commenters that the study isn't scientific at all and probably doesn't actually mean much of anything. I'll also agree with comment #22 about the mainstream culture..

When you go on online dating sites, you fully *expect* to see mostly white people. Unless you specifically filter your search for a particular ethnicity, an online dating site is going to be a microcosm of the general USA population, and MOST of the search results are going to return whites.

Similarly, if you go on JDate, you fully *expect* to see Jewish people. That doesn't mean that people that aren't Jewish don't go on JDate, but I'm sure a study of that site would reveal that it's mostly Jewish people that get responses on that site.

So, basically, non-whites that go on online dating sites are presented with A LOT of white results unless they specifically filter them out. Meanwhile, whites are presented with A LOT of white results unless they specifically filter FOR other ethnicities. As far as contacts, every one of these sites SHOULD be slanted towards whites getting more attention on them.

As far as the question "Would you strongly prefer to date someone of your own skin color / racial background?", every group EXCEPT whites is going to know that by answering "yes", they're potentially limiting their opportunities, being that most of the people on these sites are going to be white. Meanwhile, whites answering the same question won't be changing their results much at all. Of course, this assumes that actual action was going to be taken based on the member's answer to this question.

There's also the issue of what the site's going to do with that answer. These days, you don't know if a site's going to blast your answers to the public, or at least to people you might want to go out with. There's a lot of peer pressure not to become stigmatized due to publicly admitting who you would or wouldn't date. The easy and obvious choice is to "bet on white", again because of the dating site being a microcosm of a mostly white USA population.

Also, as far as guys, we use pictures to determine which gals we're going to talk to at all, so without this being a visual study, it's essentially worthless. As soon as you have data that says white guys aren't responding to HAWT black chicks in lieu of meeting mediocre-looking white chicks, THEN you'll have an interesting study! :D

I'm white and I find lighter skinned women (and the facial features they posses) more attractive (whites, some hispanics, etc). Does that make me racist? Well I'm certainly not hispanic, so maybe that will answer your question.

I certainly don't think I'm better than anyone else, but I cannot help what I am attracted to. But I do wish there was a NAACP for whites, so Jolie O'Dell could be the first person on the chopping block.

Racialism - emphasis in racial origin in social matters, indicating a strong interest in matters of race without a necessary inference of superiority or a desire to be harmful to others. Rather their focus is on racial segregation, pride, and social view point (ie attactiveness)."

Absolutely right! Tina is in denial! Furthermore, race is an American invention. If minorities disappear tomorrow, whites will fight among themselves as they do in Ireland, the Former Soviet Union and other places. Then the definition of race will change. To a white American an Indian Hindu and a Pakistani moslem is the same race and should get married. Tell that to a Pakistani or Indian, he will break your neck. I have seen ignorant white Americans (mostly women) in Asia trying to set up a date for an Indian Hindu and a Pakistani moslem, because of the same skin color. Korean definition of race is Korean but an American will say there is no difference between a Korean and a Japanese as they all look the same. Race is in the eye of the beholder. For a white or black American woman (Tina) it is all about skin color and racial features. For a Korean it is more of culture and cuisine. For an Indian or a Pakistani it is about culture, religion and cuisine. A Pakistani has more in common with a white Bosnian moslem than with an Indian Hindu although the Pakistani is similar to an Indian Hindu racially than to a Bosnian white moslem. However, the American will say it is the other way around because of skin color.

American Heritage: The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Merriam-Webster: The belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

In terms of Dating and Relationships, the proper terms applied to race-exclusive dating is:

Racial purity - the practice/belief that the various races should be kept "pure" by not permitting interbreeding, and

Racialism - emphasis in racial origin in social matters, indicating a strong interest in matters of race without a necessary inference of superiority or a desire to be harmful to others. Rather their focus is on racial segregation, pride, and social view point (ie attactiveness).

in particular, take a look at these two papers:
http://home.uchicago.edu/~ghitsch/Hitsch-Research/Guenter_Hitsch_files/Online-Matching-Sorting.pdf

http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/emir.kamenica/documents/racialPreferences.pdf

The definition of a racist is one who favors one's own race based on skin color. That makes whites who only want to date other whites based on skin color racists. If non-whites only want to date whites then that is also a form of racism. But, this survey only indicates who is open to dating outside their race..not people who would only date people outside their race. Still dont understand why white guys suck. 60% of them are open to dating women of other races. The more appropriate title would be white women suck or white girls are racists..the only group in the entire study where a majority strictly prefers (or should I say worships) white skin color (a form of idolatory or paganism). It would be interesting to note how many white women will date white men who have dated other races, ie., the Nellie Forbush effect. I bet 75% of the 54% of white women who judge whether to date or not based on men' skin color would not date white men who dated outside their race. Loads of these women are expats in China and Singapore..Nellie Forbush continues to live in the heart and soul white women over fifty years after the movie South Pacific was released and she will live in the white women's souls in the future as well.

I only have one problem with whites. They talk a load of crap about blacks not willing to assimilate socially..but they are the ones who are exclusive. They come to India as missionaries and talk about the sin of caste and idolatory, while they themselves live in sin..fornication, white skin worshipping idolatory among others.

Check the actual numbers in stead of just the color coding.

As long as white people dont preach to the rest of us about the virtues of assimilation...when whites really dont want to assimilate. They love to complain about black kids sitting separately in the University cafeteria while they themselves practise white exclusivity. No one would give a damn if white people dont show up in India and condemn the caste system when they themselves worship white skin color...basically practise white skin worshipping paganism while they claim to be saved by the blood of the Lamb! Mormons are the number one culprit but Baptists and other missionaries are not very different.

"What is surprising and disapointing; as I always suspected it, is that most women prefer white men. Shows just how shallow and stupid most women are."

There are probably more white women attracted to white murder suspects than to Asian men...case in point..Drew Petersen.

It's really racist if you find people of your own race the most attractive? Huh. I don't get it."

@Chris: No it isn't racist to be physically attracted to a certain race more often than any other race. This is because race is about appearance attributes, and so is physical preference.

It becomes racism if you have a prejudice against an entire race because in your mind you extrapolate someone's race to *non*-physical attributes, i.e. intelligence, personality, etc. For example, it would be racist to stay away from all black women because you think they're all angry, or all white women because you think they're all mentally weak.

What is surprising and disapointing; as I always suspected it, is that most women prefer white men. Shows just how shallow and stupid most women are.

As a white guy, I find girls of other races attractive, but I have to say that I more attractive white women on a daily basis than women of other races. It could be that white women are more readily available, seeing as more than 50% of the US is white. So based on numbers, let's say I think two girls in 100 are hot - chances are higher that those girls are white.

That's just a thought.

Just because it's not a scientific study doesn't mean it has no meaning and shouldn't be written about. No-one would say that about all the other stats tech blogs talk about.

For me the most startling, unambiguous and dispiriting statistic is that such a large percentage of people "strongly prefer to date someone of their own skin color/racial background". What the???

i'm not surprised by this at all based on my own experiences. still it stings a bit to see it laid out so.

While the OKCupid methodology is not fully explained, based on the implied sample size of "almost a million", it's likely that this data is revealing some very real underlying trends.

Without knowing the details, I wouldn't put too much stock in differences in reply rates of less than 5%, but it's extremely unlikely that the disparity between a 40.5% aggregate reply rate for white men and a 46.9% reply rate is due to random chance.

For the survey question, the sample sizes are provided, so we can calculate the margin of error & it's going to be less than 2% (at .95 confidence) in all cases, and vanishingly small for whites. There may be other methodological issues (e.g., self-selection bias), but they are unlikely to explain such a huge difference.

In any case, the findings don't seem particularly surprising... I live in a fairly racially mixed area, and these results generally mirror what I see in the world around me: whites are mostly with other whites, and where they aren't, it's usually white guys with Asians or "light brown" women. White women with men of any other race are relatively uncommon, and white men with black women are few and far between.

Having said all of that, the language used to interpret the findings seems intentionally provocative and borderline juvenlie.

One can certainly argue with statements like "white men suck" (e.g., maybe they just get more matches, so they can afford to be more selective), but attacking the data because you don't like what it says is a tactic for the weak-minded.

What a bunch of non-scientific bullshit dressed up as meaningful data. This is a marketing ploy by OKCupid, and you fell for it. Trash internet journalism at its worst.

Members of race A tend to be more physically attractive statistically speaking. If a member of race B sends out a message, the recipient of the message is statistically more likely to find that person unattractive. It's not a matter of "I hate race B", it's simply that Race A is more likely to be attractive.

Throughout the article is the unspoken assumption that preferring one's own race is somehow a problem, something that needs to be addressed and corrected. Pffft! Like attracts like, always has and hopefully always will.

While it may well be true that white men tend to date within their own race, this article name calls instead of searching for causes. Having "White guys suck" as part of the title is sensationalist. There are plenty of ways to provide this information without making conclusions, or "poisoning the well" before asking for user comment.

While I may be a white man, I have seen the injustice of racism and sexism in society. Unfortunately this level of journalism makes it worse, not better. It generalizes about a specific race of people, and draws negative conclusions about the entire race based on limited information. Isn't this the very definition of racism?

Goes to show you size doesn't matter eh? Lolz.

You're right. Many Asian cultures tend to have a strong male bias. A lot of Asian boys grow up terribly spoiled by their mothers and what they look for in a wife is someone like their own mother who will continue to coddle them. A lot of Asian girls are now exposed to Western cultures and they definitely don't want such a relationship. That's why Japan's marriage rate and birth rate are way down, for example. On the other hand, several Asian countries now have significantly more boys than girls, so in the future Asian women will have vastly more selective power and we may see a pretty sizable shift in how Asian cultures treat women.

Maybe this explains all the Asian-only social networks or Asian versions of other seemingly non-racial sites. The men are trying to hide their women from others. Busted!

I wonder how much of black females getting less responses is due to class. Black females have the least money/power of any group, although there is certainly discrimination happening.

Also, almost by definition, minorities have to be more willing to date outside their race to be open up a broader pool of potential mates.

The reason that there's Black/Hispanic History Month, etc. is that every other month is essentially White History Month.

And as for affirmative action, it's not like highly qualified white students are being squeezed out altogether. For any given school, it's probably the most marginal candidates that get the shaft. When I was graduating from high school, the white kids at the top of the class all got into places like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford. And those that didn't get into the really elite schools nevertheless went to fine universities. If a white kid or an Asian kid from a middle class family has 20 more SAT points and a couple more A's than a black or Hispanic kid from a disadvantaged background, I don't see what's so unfair about taking the black or Hispanic kid. Because he's probably had to overcome a lot more obstacles to get to the same place. But if they're from similar social/economic backgrounds, then I'd not be in favor of any affirmative action in that case.

I also agree with the comments that the post is a little too PC. It is possible to provide intelligent commentary on the data without anxiously covering every possible direction from which you might be accused of racism. By protesting too much, you might actually reinforce the attitudes you find objectionable.

This reminds me of the infamous Hernstein/Murray Bell Curve debate of 1994.

I'll cleverly withhold my own opinion though :)

Venkat

I just get the feeling so many white people nowadays are feeling attacked for being white.

This would play even more into the higher education crowd. Try going to colloege, or working at one without hearing about diversity this, diversity that.

Here's a solution, hire the best person, let the best students in, etc. based on their qualifications, and that's it.

Affirmitave Action had a place at one point, but now, it's creating a negative feeling towards at least blacks, which is to bad.

Second, it's really not too surprising that with "white culture" (not in the Glen Beck sense) being the mainstream culture in America, this would be the result. Women prefer dating and marrying into the mainstream culture regardless of race. Men do as well, though to a lesser degree. White women, who are already in the mainstream culture, are understandably very reluctant to give it up. White men have more options for the same reason and can therefore afford to be pickier. This doesn't mean that they are more racist. If you look at the responses to the question about preferring to date the same race/cultural background, it's actually pretty impressive that 46% of white women actually would be willing to give up some measure of their status in the mainstream culture to find love.

Finally, let's put these number into perspective. If you're in one of the three "worst" performing groups, i.e. Indian, Asian (like me) and black males, you still have a response rate of over 20%, even with white girls. That means two out of every ten girls you message will reply to you. Compare that to white males who will have 3 replies out of 10. Surely that's no reason to be depressed. We minority guys have to work slightly harder, but the girls we do get will probably tend to be more open minded, better educated, and more secure in their sense of self. Black women do even better. They get a response 1 out of 3 times, and they know the guy who does respond probably isn't a racist.

Overall, I think these numbers show that people are pretty darn good given all the evolutionary baggage we carry in our brains.

In the end, I look at this just as it is, a hilarious dive into human nature. Regardless of where the data is pulled from or how they gathered it, it's still good for a laugh.

Not that I expect a lot of hate, but I yes I am white and yes I have been before and currently am in a relationship that just so happens to be "multiracial." Just because I see beauty where some other don't doesn't make me "less racist" it just makes me me.

It's really racist if you find people of your own race the most attractive? Huh. I don't get it.

If the data (raw counts with # of null responses, total counts, ) were made available, it would be more interesting.

Perhaps you could describe the software used to generate the pictures as well? The heat map is interesting, coloring would tell the story better if it was green for high % reply, and gray for low % reply; the red tends to dominate, and tell a different story than you are trying to tell.

You said:
Admittedly, as a white person, it's more comfortable for me to examine the faults of other white people when we take racially motivated actions. But I assure you, this post wasn't motivated by guilt....

Whats that statement about? Examine the faults of white people? For wanting to date their own race, oh right ill date an Indian just to keep up appearances shall I? You really have made yourself look like a fool.

So please white people, stop with the pity party, it seems the article didn't just focus on white people.

Yeah, that's *just* the white guys being racist...

Although, actually, white guys give their highest response rate to...Middle eastern women! Evil bastards. I think we've stumbled upon a Klan meet.

Why not look at the bright side of it ? I'm a European guy whose taste leans heavily toward living with an African, and I thank those other white guys who bias this market segment in my favor !

Same with the employment market : companies who have are not hiring this talent because they don't like the way those people look are merely serving their open minded competitors talent on a platter at lower cost.

As usual, the open minded actor wins !

fuck my life.

1) We don't now what countries are involved
2) we don't know whether the data are normalized by income (in some countries white people earn more than other racial groups)
3) we don't know whether there is a difference between the quality of the message sent by different group (you are more educated -> you write better)
4)we don't know if the average number of message received is different (actually the data shows that other racial groups prefer white people so they must be more selective because they receive more message).

Instead
1) we know that countries where white people are the majority have more chances to have members of other racial groups. That's because western countries are richer and even where white people aren't killed (ex. muslim countries) other societes are less open than western democracies.
2) we know that many memebers of minorities perpetrate more crimes than white people.
3) we know that since white people are rarely a minority there are hidden advantages for them. For instance, since there are more of them there is probably more than one that is closer to you than a member of a minority group, so statistically white people have more chances.

I am not saying that white people aren't racist, but there are logical reasons that can explain these data and without more specific informations there is no way to find the truth.

P.S. even if you don't agree with my comment the data seems to say that white people sucks and women worse than men, so the title is wrong in any case.

If you go to the link, you will see that a real psychological study will present not only the data, but the math to illustrate the reasons for the conclusions. It also presents similar studies, and backs itself up with genuine evidence.

Claiming that "this is something to think about" is dodging the point that commentor made, this article was written for the controversy, not the science. If this article is representative of RWW's writing style, I will be sure to avoid this site in the future.

The study as reported doesn't provide meaningful results as it fails to establish controls for the sex of the sender or racial affiliation. Similarly, it is useless to establish response rates based on zodiac sign affiliation as a baseline without also including the sex of the respondant as an axis of comparison. Remember that reporting of both racial-group and zodiac-sign affiliation are optional, so we may be looking at data from two wildly different populations within okcupid's user base.

It's cool to see this data being used for academic study, but let's at least try to be accurate about it rather than purely sensationalist.

Admittedly, as a white person, it's more comfortable for me to examine the faults of other white people when we take racially motivated actions. But I assure you, this post wasn't motivated by guilt.

It's an interesting study, and the patterns that did emerge are food for thought.

Also, I don't really see how racism would be a reason for people to use dating sites *more*. However, as a Twitter commenter suggested, the implications are interesting for online marketers.

Even though the article may be 'controversial', its not - as it knows how to kowtow to political correctness. The only safe comment it can make is against white men, then white females, then straight WM and WF -> exactly the order that PC decrees.

Imagine if the author found any other conceivable pattern, this article would be vilified with probable legal action. That taken into account, and the co-incidence factor, makes a strong case for this being manufactured to get more ppl onto the online dating sites. True magazine schlock.

Really guys, disappointed