How much does race impact who you date?

When deciding whether to swipe right, what are we really looking at? Is it someone’s smile? Their sense of fashion? Or is it their skin colour?

An SBS survey of 6,000 Australians shows that people of certain ethnicities or backgrounds do inspire more positive feelings than others.

Anglo-Australians are at the top of that positivity poll with 54 per cent, those of Asian Australian descent follow closely behind at 53 per cent, Aboriginal Australians at 50 per cent, African Australians at 38 per cent and Middle Eastern Australians at 36 per cent.

Yet when it comes to dating out there in the real world, the stats aren’t quite as clear cut.
Race Survey
Source: SBS
“I don’t think I could date anyone that was vaguely racist,” says Perri, one of a group of Melbourne singles The Feed brought together for a speed dating experiment.

“I think (I’m looking for) someone just to do fun things and go exploring with and do the things I do alone with someone.”
Perri
Source: SBS
Katerina says she has found herself a “magnet” for men from a Turkish and Lebanese background, but the only specific type of person she wouldn’t date is a “douche”.

“Race really isn’t an issue to me,” she notes.

“If there’s a connection,  there’s a connection.”
Katerina
Source: SBS
The statistics were brought together and examined as part of SBS documentary Date My Race, which follows presenter Santilla Chingaipe as she confronts the role race and racism has played in her dating life.

Date My Race airs on Monday, February 27 at 8.30pm on SBS as part of Face Up to Racism Week #FU2Racism.
Tune in to #TheFeedSBS at 7.30pm Monday - Friday on SBS VICELAND, stream live, or follow us on FacebookTwitter, or Instagram.


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2 min read

Published

Updated

By Maria Lewis
Presented by Laura Murphy-Oates
Source: The Feed

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