Black-White Biracial Women's Dating Experiences and Partner Preferences: The Role of Time and College Context

• In Event: 4150 - Interracial Unions: Preferences, Prejudices, and Privileges

Abstract

This study explores the dating experiences and partner preferences of black-white biracial women who attend historically black and predominantly white colleges/universities. I draw upon interviews with 36 biracial women at the beginning of their college career and follow-up interviews with the same women at the end of their college career. I find that many biracial women reported preferring white men as dating partners during time one; however, most women also reported frequent rejection by white men and more attention from men of color (especially black men). By time two, many women had experienced a change in their partner preferences, moving away from a preference for whiteness and toward an increased openness to, or preference for, black men partners. These findings add to the literature on interracial unions by exploring who black-white biracial women partner with and how their partner preferences change over time. Additionally, biracial women’s accounts of being pursued and/or rejected by men advance understanding of how biracial women are situated within racialized dating hierarchies within different social contexts.

Author

• Kristen Annette Clayton, University of Georgia