Is Love (Skin Color) Blind?: Skin Color and Interdating across Ethnoracial Groups1

Abstract

The role skin color plays in shaping cross-ethnoracial relationships is not well understood despite its implications for the trajectory of U.S. ethnoracial relations. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen, I investigate two questions: Among ethnoracial minorities, how does a person's skin color relate to the likelihood of dating individuals from another ethnoracial group? Does this relationship vary by the combination of ethnoracial backgrounds of the individuals who are dating? The results indicate that the influence of skin color on interdating may depend on the status levels of partners' ethnoracial groups. A person from a lower status group with a darker skin color—relative to other similar group members with lighter skin color—is less likely to date someone from a higher status group, but darker skin color is associated with a greater likelihood of interdating when a darker-skinned member of a higher status group dates a member of a lower status group. Further, the results point to a complex relationship between two intermediate groups, Asians and Latinos, which seems dependent on Latino respondents' gender.