Racial preferences in online dating across european countries european sociological review oxford
Racial Preferences in Online Dating across European Countries
Knowledge about how race governs partner selection has been predominantly studied in the United States, yet it is unclear whether these results can be generalized to nations with different racial and immigration patterns. Using a large-scale sample of online daters in nine European countries, we engage in the first cross-national analysis of race-related partner preferences and examine the link between contextual factors and ethnic selectivity. We provide a unique test of contact, conflict, and in-group identification theories. We show that individuals uniformly prefer to date same-race partners and that there is a hierarchy of preferences both among natives and minority groups. Notable country differences are also found. Europeans living in countries with a large foreign-born population have an increased preference for minority groups. The ethnically heterogeneous Swiss population displays the strongest preference for minorities, with the more homogenous Poland, Spain, and Italy, the least. Anti-immigrant attitudes are related to stronger in-group preferences among natives. Unexpectedly, non-Arabic minority daters belonging to large-size communities have strong preferences for Europeans. The results have implications for immigrant integration policies and demonstrate that Internet dating allows efficient selection by racial divisions, perpetuating country-specific racial inequalities.Racial Preferences in Online Dating across European Countries
1 LIVES, University of Lausanne, Bâtiment Géopolis, Quartier UNIL-Mouline, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland, 2 Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3UQ, England and 3 Nuffield College, New Road, Oxford OX1 1NF, England
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Melinda Mills Melinda Mills1 LIVES, University of Lausanne, Bâtiment Géopolis, Quartier UNIL-Mouline, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland, 2 Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3UQ, England and 3 Nuffield College, New Road, Oxford OX1 1NF, England
Search for other works by this author on:European Sociological Review, Volume 31, Issue 3, June 2015, Pages 326–341, https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcu093
05 January 2015 01 January 2014 Revision received: 01 October 2014 01 November 2014 05 January 2015Cite
Gina Potârcă, Melinda Mills, Racial Preferences in Online Dating across European Countries, European Sociological Review, Volume 31, Issue 3, June 2015, Pages 326–341, https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcu093
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Knowledge about how race governs partner selection has been predominantly studied in the United States, yet it is unclear whether these results can be generalized to nations with different racial and immigration patterns. Using a large-scale sample of online daters in nine European countries, we engage in the first cross-national analysis of race-related partner preferences and examine the link between contextual factors and ethnic selectivity. We provide a unique test of contact, conflict, and in-group identification theories. We show that individuals uniformly prefer to date same-race partners and that there is a hierarchy of preferences both among natives and minority groups. Notable country differences are also found. Europeans living in countries with a large foreign-born population have an increased preference for minority groups. The ethnically heterogeneous Swiss population displays the strongest preference for minorities, with the more homogenous Poland, Spain, and Italy, the least. Anti-immigrant attitudes are related to stronger in-group preferences among natives. Unexpectedly, non-Arabic minority daters belonging to large-size communities have strong preferences for Europeans. The results have implications for immigrant integration policies and demonstrate that Internet dating allows efficient selection by racial divisions, perpetuating country-specific racial inequalities.
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