In online dating, multiracial men and women are preferred above all other groups

Over the last two decades, online dating has become progressively more acceptable – and popular. It has become so popular that preferences in the online dating market also reflect the reality of racial discrimination in the U.S. In new research, researchers Celeste Vaughan Curington and colleagues examine the experience of multiracial individuals in online dating. They find that there may be a “dividend effect” where multiracial men and women are preferred above all other groups, including Whites, an effect which could be attributed to cultural representations of multiracials as exotic, sexual, trendy, and attractive.