SEXUALITY and DIVERSITY

Partner Choice and Race

The NHSLS provided data about the extent to which people form intimate relation­ships with members of the same race. As described in Chapter 2, a lack of funds forced Edward Laumann and his associates (1994) to include adequate numbers of only the two largest ethnic minorities in America. Consequently, ■ Table 7.2 contains data per­taining only to White Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans. These data summarize a sample of almost 2,000 nonmarital, noncohabitational heterosexual partnerships.

As you can see by examining the values in Table 7.2, the percentages of same-race noncohabitational partnerships are very high for both sexes among Whites and African Americans. In contrast, the percentage of same-race noncohabitational partnerships is considerably lower among Hispanic respondents. Thus it would appear that "Hispanics as a group are less exclusive with respect to sexual partnering than are whites or blacks" (Laumann et al., 1994, p. 246).

A more recent investigation of heterosexual dating profiles of over 6,000 U. S. citizens found that Whites are least open to out-dating and "are far more likely than minorities to prefer to date only within their race" (Robnett & Feliciano, 2011, p. 32). Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans are more likely to con­sider Whites as possible dating partners than Whites are to include them as prospective partners. Blacks are far more exclusionary of Whites than is the case with Hispanics and Asians. All men, with the exception of African American men, are the most exclusion­ary of African American women.

■ TABLE 7.2 Noncohabitational Sexual Partnerships by Race and Sex

Percentage of Same-Race Partnerships

chapter 7

Why are we drawn to people who are like us? For one thing, people with similar atti­tudes and interests are often inclined to participate in the same kinds of leisure activi­ties. Even more important, we are more likely to communicate well with people whose ideas and opinions are similar to ours, and communication is an important aspect of enduring relationships. It is also reassuring to be with similar people, because they con­firm our view of the world, validate our own experiences, and support our opinions and beliefs (Amodio & Showers, 2005).

Perceived similarity in others could be especially attractive to us because we have strong expectations of being accepted and appreciated by people who are like us (Spre — cher & McKinney, 1993). That these expectations are often fulfilled is reflected in research findings indicating that people who are similar in a variety of social and personal traits are more likely to stay together than are people who are less similar (Weber, 1998).