‘Not everyone’s gonna like me’: Accounting for race and racism in sex and dating web services for gay and bisexual men

Abstract

Sexual racism can be thought of as a specific form of racial prejudice enacted in the context of sex and dating. It is a contentious issue among gay and bisexual men looking for partners online. This study draws upon 14 in-depth interviews conducted between August and October 2012 with gay and bisexual men of colour in Australia. Data were thematically analysed to identify interpretations and experiences of, and reactions to sexual racism online. Understandings of online sexual racism were diverse, ranging from clear ideas about racist and non-racist practices to more ambiguous and contextual interpretations. Nevertheless, all participants described experiences of sexual racism while seeking partners online, which were, in some cases, largely indistinguishable from generic forms of racism. Most described experiences of subtle racism, but there were also cases of blatant and aggressive racial prejudice. Finally, men reacted in a range of ways when confronted with online sexual racism, with strategies ranging from disconnection to adaptation through to confrontation. Our findings highlight that sexual racism – as an expression of racism generally – is an ongoing issue for men who seek out other men online, and that men engage in a range of strategies for mitigating the negative effects of racial prejudice in this domain.

Love and hate at the Cultural Interface: Indigenous Australians and dating apps

“…Indeed, McGregor (Verass, 2016) explained that it is common practice for Grindr users to express a sexual preference and that often profiles will include statements such as ‘no rice or spice’, or ‘Euros only’, ‘Aussie only’, ‘GWM [gay white men] only’ (Donelly, 2016; Rafalow et al, 2017). Likewise, in an Australia-wide online survey of gay and bisexual men on the topic of sexual preference conducted in 2016, it was revealed that many of the respondents discriminated among partners on the basis of race (Callander et al, 2016). The results revealed that Aboriginal men were deemed less attractive than most other categories, including white men, and that they would most likely be romantically or sexually excluded on the basis of race.…”

“…This issue of ‘sexual preference’ and ‘racial exclusion’ is regularly referred to as ‘sexual racism’ (Bedi, 2015; Callander et al, 2016; Robinson and Frost, 2018). Some however, argue that it is ‘sexual freedom and individual preferences’ as opposed to racism (Callander et al, 2016: 4).…”

“…This issue of ‘sexual preference’ and ‘racial exclusion’ is regularly referred to as ‘sexual racism’ (Bedi, 2015; Callander et al, 2016; Robinson and Frost, 2018). Some however, argue that it is ‘sexual freedom and individual preferences’ as opposed to racism (Callander et al, 2016: 4). ‘Sexual racism’ refers to the practice of racial discrimination and prejudice in the context of looking for a sexual partner or seeking romance and is generally based on phenotypical characteristics (Bedi, 2015; Callander et al, 2015; Robinson and Frost, 2018).…”

Very Few People Say “No Whites”: Gay Men of Color and the Racial Politics of Desire

“…While interesting, it is not very surprising given that race has always played a critical role in the construction of desire and desirability (Nagel 2003). In fact, desire for whiteness has been noted by a number of scholars examining race and racism in the gay community (Callander, Holt and Newman 2016; Han 2007; Robinson 2015; McBride 2005; Teunis 2007).…”

Debiasing Desire

“…A wealth of empirical work documents racial discrimination among gay and bisexual users of online platforms in particular. 2 This research describes the many ways in which discrimination reinforces racial stereotypes, hierarchies, and social distance (e.g., [16,72]; see [5] for further review).…”