At least that's what the online dating scene suggests. This wonderful fact is just one of the many fascinating discoveries about dating preferences unearthed at the online dating site OKCupid:
We’ve processed the messaging habits of almost a million people and are about to basically prove that, despite what you might’ve heard from the Obama campaign and organic cereal commercials, racism is alive and well.
Here's a sample of their main findings--the whole item is worth a read:
- White men get the most responses to their messages.
- Black women are the most likely to respond to a message.
- But men of all groups write back to black women the least.
- White women like white men, but latina and asian women like them even more.
- White men write back 20% less than other men.
Here's a chart plotting desirability (the percentage of time an ethnicity gets a response) vs. generosity (the percentage of time an ethnicity responds). Blue text means men, pink text means women:
Middle Eastern women are the most desirable (could that have something to do with our wars?), while Middle Eastern men (as I can tell you) are the most generous.
Overall, these results shouldn't be too surprising. And given that a youthful site like OK Cupid probably attracts a more 'forward thinking' crowd, the real-world dynamics are probably even worse.