BLACK ON WHITE LOVE: HOW RACIAL/ETHNIC IDENTITIES INFLUENCE PARTNER-DECISIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS
Social Sciences
SOCIOLOGY
The topic of interracial dating has historically been muffled due to its controversy. Previous literature has emphasized that racial biases and economic differences have played a major role in choosing a potential partner. With primarily racial motivation influencing decisions, my research aims to answer the following question: in what ways does ethnicity/race and economic status affect the thoughts behind romantic/sexual relationships. To answer the question, an online survey was administered to 1350 people of various backgrounds to gauge 1) if those previous findings are still accurate, and 2) to have a better understanding of where those potential biases come from. This project then attempts to find commonality in the comfortability between intra-racial or inter-racial communications. The ultimate objective of my work is to open up the traditionally private and closed-off discussion of interracial relationships, and to further deepen the understanding for both racially and economically motivated choices of partner selection and courtship.
