THE GRIO - Nov 16 - After analyzing 1M+ profiles on a mainstream dating site, researchers at the University of California Berkeley, concluded that whites are highly unlikely to initiate contact with black people. 80% of the communication initiated by whites was to other whites. Black members were ten times more likely to contact whites. According to a 2009 analysis, black women on OkCupid.com get the "cold shoulder" from everyone, including their black male counterparts. Ron Worthy, a spokesperson for Blackpeoplemeet.com, a subsidiary of Match.com, says that this illustrates the importance and increasing popularity of niche dating sites. AfroRomance.com is specifically geared toward interracial dating. Rob Thompson started the AfroRomance.com because it was difficult to tell who was truly interested in interracial relationships on conventional sites. He went onto meet his wife, who is from Kenya on AfroRomance.com.
by Chelsea-Lyn Rudder
The full article was originally published at The Grio, but is no longer available.
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Terrible news for black women. Super controversial. Also, singles that have never been married don't generally want to talk to divorcees. Non-smokers don't want to talk to smokers. There are many more of these non-affinities that idating sites can shine a light on.
Posted by: Mark Brooks | Nov 17, 2011 at 12:48 PM
In this case in particular, as throughout the spectrum, online dating is just a microcosm of people's behavior in the real world.
For years, the TV talk shows have done many episodes with black women complaining about being passed over by black men in favor of white women, especially blondes.
And in general, it would seem to be logical that one online dater may not approach another about a potential interracial relationship unless they know for sure that person is interested in one. That's not racial segregation. It's just a relationship preference. So that makes a site like AfroRomance.com a good option.
Posted by: Jerry Buchs | Nov 20, 2011 at 09:32 AM
Isn't it what this idea was from beginning? You get to choose the personality of ya dream partner than getting surprised when a relationship may have gone far.
Posted by: Jennifer Wilson | Apr 10, 2017 at 02:02 AM