Is Love (Color) Blind? The Role of Skin Color in Dating across Ethno-racial Groups

• In Event: 1284 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Race/Ethnicity, Love, and Friendship

Abstract

An individual’s skin color is associated to an assortment of outcomes (e.g., mental and physical health, income, education, etc.), yet the role of skin color in determining whether members of different ethno-racial groups are more likely to date one another has not been explored in spite of its implications for the future of ethno-racial divides and social stratification. This study uses waves 1, 4, and 5 of the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen to answer the following questions: 1) How does skin color relate to the probability of dating an individual of another ethno-racial group? 2) Does the significance of skin color depend on the ethno-racial background of the individuals that date one another? The results show that darker skin color may function as a barrier for blacks to date outside of their own ethno-racial group, specifically with whites and Latinos, while darker skin color predicts a greater likelihood of dating for Asians dating blacks, Hispanic men dating blacks, and Asian men dating Hispanics. The author theorizes that the results are a function of the current U.S. ethno-racial hierarchy in which the particular role of skin color depends on whether individuals are dating members of higher or lower status ethno-racial groups.

Author

• Emilce Santana, Princeton University