The tendency of discrimination occurs due to social and psychological factors which can be attributed to implicit and explicit attitudes. Implicit biases are subconscious reactions that are often associated with specific encounters or categories, such as race and sexuality. Therefore, implicit bias is the most reliable indicator of discrimination. While racial biases have decreased over the last decade, anecdotal evidence suggests minority women face discrimination in the context of human sexuality.
Modern dating culture is strongly based on an online presence where individuals can see the race of a potential partner before meeting them, leading to prejudice. NPR presented a piece on the topic, interviewing individuals, some of which were minority women. Despite being in liberal regions, minority women would face racial stereotypes in dating and sexual life as partners would be afraid of their family’s acceptance or have a belief that minority women need to be somehow changed. Minority women supported by social scientists support the concept of familiarity, as attraction occurs based on familiar perceptions. If real-life norms in society are inherently racist or there is very little minority representation in the media regarding sexuality, then it becomes ingrained into the psychology and implicit biases. It guides sexual racial preferences on a subconscious level, leading to minority women being overlooked unless for ethnic marriages or racial fetishization.
The United States has experienced social anxiety about interracial sexual relations for centuries, and minority women being a critical part of that due to their ability to give birth to mixed-race children, were seen as a threat in various ways. The society which was traditionally dominated by white attempted to limit expression for minorities, including sexuality. This was done through racist policies such as Jim Crow Laws, leading to violence and lynching against mixed-race couples. An article by Viñas-Nelson portrays photographs and political caricatures which condoned any interracial relationships. The Jim Crow Laws led to violence and prohibitions which allowed discrimination against minorities, for the sake of purity. Therefore, minorities were only allowed to marry each other, while European ethnicities had to marry within the “white” category.
There was such tremendous social pressure for racial purity, that minority women were inherently suppressed. White men simply had no choice of sexual partners in fear of social isolation, while minority men felt forced to marry within their race or be persecuted otherwise. Therefore, it can be argued that the suppression along with social pressures has led to a certain disdain in sexual preference among men towards minority women. It continues to modern-day through implicit attitudes, even if the explicit hatred of Jim Crow Laws has been outlawed.
The anonymity of modern online dating, as well as regular face-to-face encounters, encourages sexual racism. Guided by historical and social attitudes from previous eras as described above, are a reflection of racial dynamics. Minority women face stereotypes. For example, African women are often seen as less innocent and lacking the need for care and protection, they do not adhere to the traditional female roles. Therefore, men, including minorities as well, do not feel the validation of dating minority women, fearing that they would be challenged or not meet the expectations of romanticism that has been defined through popular media. While some progress is being made with society acknowledging the concepts of implicit racism, including in sexuality, the change in real-world behavior is slow to take place as it requires a paradigm shift in the mindset of individuals.