Race preference (definition) = When you tends to prefer a group of people from a geographical area more often in dating because of you tends to find them physically attractive more often. It doesn't mean you can't be attracted to other people and it's not the same as cultural preferences.
Example: A man preferring Scandinavian women because of they're often blonde and have blue eyes. A woman preferring Sub-saharan African men because of they're often tall, dark and muscular.
Nature (Explain Why)
Nurture (Explain Why)
A combination between both of them (Explain What & Why)
Ok.. here's what I can offer as opinion... This is a very delicate matter and unfortunately I get a lot of flac about it, mainly from women of my (visual) race. But I am officially 38 today... And have since as far as I can remember, ALWAYS loved Caucasian women... This is not declared to American , German... None of those direct speculations... I just see white women and as a kid, girls as extremely attractive to me. Now again this is not every single white girl I see... But in a room full of let's say "Maxim's top 100 beautiful women" (an old periodical they sold) I can guarantee you that if you told me to pick 25 as my favorites... At least 20 of them would be white. Now acknowledge this... There are some drop dead gorgeous Asians... sexy Indians, exotic islanders... But I am ALMOST ashamed... that there are literally 1 handful of black/african American/Jamaican etc basically black girls that I have even the slightest attraction to... And (Keyword ALMOST, because in the end I don't really give a damn what someone else wants me to like.. I like what I like... BUT truthfully they are all mixed.. not 1 full blood. And this is not for lack of effort. I was friends with some very pretty and fun to be around black girls... And I tried dating 3 of them at different times... I just had no feeling of desire for them. The ones that I do like and am attracted to? Rihanna, Beyonce, Stacey Dash (clueless) , Lark Voorhees (how high), and Vanessa Williams... That's it.. Nikki Minaj does nothing for me... Venus and Serena sorry.. but maybe its cuz I don't like enormous asses, and also I just love the way Caucasian women's skin glows , and there is a key in their voice that just is pleasing to me. Sure Sofia Vergara would be put in the top 10 women I would tank hottest... There's a few Middle eastern women in my top 10 too... But let's tamp it down and day I'm out at a local bar... I have no shame admitting my eyes are jumping from white girl to white girl if there's a lot of em and I see my favorite features... Colored eyes... The light tan of a white girl or even paleness of a natural redhead... these features drive me wild. Now the question is "nature or nurture" well I grew up and went to school in primarily rich white neighborhoods in the higher living cities in Texas and California... If I was raised in Africa would I feel the same.. I gotta say that I probably wouldn't... So in the end it's Nurture... What area and who you are raised around.. who your playdates are with. The kids who invited you to parties... And became your best friends... It was possibly the sight of their hot older sisters... Mom's, and such when our brains are forming and we have no idea they are creating these associations.. but that's what drives attraction. Nurture 100%. Nature means because you were born that was your birth preference to fawn over... I was trapped in an elevator for 16 hrs with a black girl... We did nothing though she tried!
Science theorizes that the origin of racial antagonisms and preferences are rooted in evolution. For man's primate ancestors a creature that looked different than oneself was apt to be a dangerous predator.
So man developed a spontaneous aversion to other primates who had different skin pigmentation, even if they were otherwise similar. The primitive mind responding to visual cues and being more sensitive to differences than similarities because of the implied risks that those differences might suggest.
As time marched on, however, and man began to evolve and socialization developed, his capacity for making distinctions began to improve. This, suffice to say, was not an all in one bound process and was very much defined by the cultural context in which it happened. Thus, slowly but surely, what had once been seen as an indicator of threat became a perception of commonality and then of attractiveness, with the latter often seen to be attractive because exotic.
Note well, exotic is the luxury of the safe and civilized. The fly attracted to the exotic nature of the spiderweb would not live long in "red in tooth and claw" world of the survival of the fittest.
Thus, in contemporary man there is an intricate and not entirely predictable relationship between what he views as attractive and what not. It being very much a melange of primitive instinct and socialization, i. e. nature and nurture, to which might be added the quirks of individual personalities.
The latter being always unpredictable but much more prone to refinement and development in a civilized context. After all, you don't run into too many bears in nature with personalities distinct from other bears.
I would say it's more nature but there's some nurture too. Like if a country considered blue eyes as ideal most people would want to go out with a White person. If they consider kinky hair as ideal most people would be attracted to kinky hair.
In my country for a guy they consider blue eyes, tan skin and brown hair as the most attractive so nearly all girls want a guys looking like that but there's also girls who are attracted to different features. Personally I find blond hair and pale skin as more attractive than brown hair and tan skin.
I think some people are also more influenced by the beauty standard of their countries while others are less influenced by it so racial preference in this cases would be a mix.
It could be because of where we grew up and if we’re constantly around that race like for me. I’m East Asian and really only into East Asian that’s because I’ve only been around them and I’m just used to my own race. Even when I lived in Canada I went to a Japanese school in Toronto and only grew up around Asians then. So I mean I’m just used to my own race
And I think it can go to nurture because let’s say someone is Indian (just an example) and they’re taught that they should marry only white people then that’s the mindset they have.
Perhaps. I'm genetically East-Asian 100%, but has been in Norway my entire life. I sees white people all the time, but are more attracted to Asian people.
False dichotomy. Why are these key factors of human development at odds? Is there a contest? Will Nature win some prize once you've determined that Nuture pulled less of its weight in the process? What will your threshold measure? What, is, your hypothesis per se?
One might actually presume that the null hypothesis must be that, Humans have no distinct racial preference. Then you control for convenience (prime male factor). That's absolutely your starting point because you first need to gather empirical evidence to support the claim that preference even exists. You have to prove existence before you can give that "thing" features.
This is antithetical by definition, lol. What's more is that I would further presume to find interracial mixtures more prevalent when stress factors such as war, poverty & disease are controlled. I could even define myriad examples throughout history of this repeatedly proving itself to build my introduction. You see, this is the process of actually testing a hypothesis and building an argument.
Not whatever the fuck you think you're doing. I'm saying you're not even approaching the question the right way to think about it appropriately. You're basically telling this idea that it's got great tits and u want sum fuk, I'm telling you to pull back a bit and act smooth. Do some more study on empiricism, stats, ... I don't know.
I'm 6' pale white ivory and dead blue eyes, slavic anglo. I want me some high elevation Nilote womens. My personal genetic philosophy is to mate with other people groups from high elevations and disparate gene-pools to produce superior generations versus you lowlanders with your weak bodies. Can't even climb a hill "my legs hurt" pfft
Our environment, experience, culture, upbringing, and familiarity is what determines what we find attractive or not. Babies do not come out of the womb with a clear preference for any racial group nor are they even aware of our concept of race. That is something that they will subconsciously learn from their environment as they age from childhood to teenager to finally adulthood.
There is nothing inside our brains that automatically wire us to find traits such as blonde hair, brown hair, small nose, blue eyes, green eyes, dark skin, light skin, etc either attractive or not attractive. There are a lot of things about us that is predetermined while we are in the womb such as sexuality, gender/sex, potential height, and risks of getting certain diseases, but whether or not we find minuscule traits like dark skin more attractive than light skin is not something that our DNA or genes account for. That is something that our environment will determine through past experience, culture, upbringing, etc.
Why Nature:- Imagine that there is a food item, and it has to be divided between you and two other people, it's the only source of nutrition for all 3 of you. Now, you have been sharing your food with those 2 all your life, but one day someone else, who is not from here comes to have a part of that food item. Obviously, you will hate him for taking a part from your food. Now, all 4 of you are unique, but you 3 have become accustomed to each others' uniqueness and the 4th person is completely new to you, this is not normal to you, so you reject and hate it. Now, replace the food with any resource, like job opportunities, govt. schemes, social circles etc. And you'll understand.
Nurture Aspect :- We are raised by our parents in such a way that we think the people who live on our continent are the only ways a human being can look. Now, when an American boy sees an Asian for the first time, of course he may freak out because everything he has seen and everything that he has been taught has only painted a picture of humans as white people who are tall and not like Asians. Of course that kid is going to think he saw an alien.
Sorry for using racial cues to make you understand, I didn't mean to offend people of any race.
From my point of view, I believe it's society and influence. It happened to me too, I'm black and don't like that many black women because of past abused and bullying from a lot of black people including girls because I wasn't into talking about sex all the time and abusing others.
I preferred white girls but I lived in a couple of large white societies and they seem to work like actors, wolves in sheep clothing, attacking people with passive aggressive behavior or in a way were they aren't caught and highly respected by society. They will try to make you the villain no matter how much damage they cause. So I don't like white girls that much anymore.
I also preferred Latinos but I also lived in a Latino society and they are very aggressive. So I didn't like Latino girls that much anymore.
I've been in a German society, Hawaiian. etc.
I started to mature a little and stopped looking at girls based on their skin color and more about their personality. Each race has its problems but there were a few gold treasures in each. The gold was that some of them had a great personality I preferred such as being caring, friendly, and sweet. However, these types of girls always had boyfriends or already married.
So now I tend to prefer personality now more than anything than race color. Currently back in america, I don't find that many personality and more about people shoving their bodies at my face for sex but hopefully one day I can meet someone that had personality I like with no extreme burdens.
I live in a country where there are almost no black people. I know how they look from tv and internet, I watch netflix and other obvious stuff. And I've always find them physically highly unattractive. I have never found ANY single black man attractive. But at the same time, there are also no mexican or Asian men here, but I find mexican men (those with lighter skin) highly attractive. And I have found more than a few Asian men attarctive.
So I have completely no idea whether it's nature or nurture
disclosure: I don't know how you American people define mexican. For me mexican means from Spain. Italian men often look mexican to me as well. I dunno Antonio Banderas kinda like
I don't see black people very often either and can relate. I've seen many beautiful black women (mostly horn of Africa and African-Americans), but not as many black men. I've seen fewer black men I finds handsome than other men. But it mostly applies to these ones from most parts of Sub-Saharan Africa (E. g. West-Africa). It doesn't apply to horn of Africa. I guess it may be because of thinner lips, a straight narrow nose with some bridge, less brow bridge and a narrow nose have been idealized in my culture as beauty standards. I do however find both light and very dark skin beautiful though.
I suspect it might be a combo of sorts, but I'd lean more towards nurture than nature. One of the cases where I suspected there might be a nature aspect to it is that I started crushing on a girl with red hair and freckles as a boy when I first went to the US.
She was not considered attractive by the other boys so much, but I thought she was the prettiest thing I ever saw. And before in Japan, I never knew that such girls existed with natural red hair and freckles. But my American side of the family is Irish, and I had a distant great grandmother with red hair and freckles like that, so maybe that was some genetic component there. At least that's the only explanation I can find to becoming smitten over a girl with red hair and freckles when they were not glamorized in any media I saw.
But I'd say the media, and the people around me, influenced these things more often than not save for some bizarre cases like that.
I did not learn about my distant great grandmother with red hair and freckles until long after I became smitten over that girl with freckles and red hair in the US. So I suspect there's some primal genetic component there that I found her so pretty when other boys didn't, and when a girl who looked like that was not present in any media I saw.
But there are far more cases where I could point to media influence, and the influence of my surroundings, than cases like those. So I think nurture plays a greater part in all of this. But I do think there's some sort of bizarre nature component to it all.
I'm curious because of my own preferences. My racial preferences are Asians (most parts of the continent), Middle-eastern, South-Europeans and South-Americans. I'm attracted to physical features like brown almond eyes, brown skin, black/dark brown hair, small/narrow noses etc. I'm genetically East-Asian; 98% Chinese, 2% China's neighbor countries, but I've been in Norway my whole life.
I'm not as frequently attracted to Scandinavians/Nordics or Sub-Saharan Africans. I can find many Africans like Ethiopian, Eritrean etc. as attractive because of they've a narrow European like nose and head shape, but are usually not attracted to these ones with wide flat noses, big lips and big heads. There exists exceptions though.
I think the gap between men are bigger than women. The gap between beauty among women on the globe is relatively small and many female facial features seems universal to me. Men however tends to look very different. It can be very many handsome ones in some countries, but very few or almost none-existent in others.
Recently there have been more people out there, especially men, in Norway getting attracted to foreigners. Especially East-Asians. An exotic look has been more glorified. But in the past when I was younger this wasn't a thing and we had a white beauty standard. The beauty standard was a light tan, blonde hair and very Nordic facial features.
I would say one of the countries with most beautiful and handsome people in is probably Afghanistan for me.
I'm odd in that I found so many people of different ethnicities attractive even when I was young, although with that particular bias to the red-head with freckles. But it might be because I'm a mutt. My genes are scattered: half-white with Irish ancestry, half-Japanese. So whatever "nature" component I might have had might have been all over the place. I found black girls attractive even though most Asians and white guys didn't in my school, for example, along with freckled red-heads, and many other girls.
But it's hard to try to distinguish nature from nurture since I also bounced between three cultures growing up, including Singapore for middle school, and Singapore is the most multicultural little country I've ever stayed in, and I developed a crush on a dark-skinned Indonesian girl there. So I can't really tell how much is nature vs. nurture.
I actually didn't like that Indonesian girl at first though. I thought she was cute but a bit of a brat. But we got assigned to do a biology project together, and I drew a poster of the most epic sketch of a sea turtle that I spent so many hours on. Then while we were working on decorating it, she spilled glue by accident in ways that messed up the drawing a bit, and while she was kind of bratty to me, she cried and apologized so profusely at that point and I found myself hugging her. Then I fell for her, and I couldn't stop thinking about her. :-D I didn't initially find her that attractive though, but after she hugged me, and I saw that soft spot, I was smitten.
I've been in Norway my entire life from I was a baby to now. Where I lived it was very homogeneous until the few last years because of mass immigration and the refugee crisis. So it was little cultural diversity and most people looked "the same". Almost everyone were white and it was the beauty standard too. First years in my teenage years I wondered if beautiful people did exist. I had never seen someone I was very attracted to before I traveled more abroad, saw some internet celebrities etc.
I admit I felt sorry for the girls (I didn't know their preference, but still) because of they had only these options in boys and there were little diversity. There were many cute girls, but not extremely beautiful. The guys however didn't look good at all. When I became older I learned to appreciate the Norwegian's girls beauty more, but still didn't understand the appeal for many of the Norwegian men. Many people ages fast here. Gets fat, wrinkled and the men bald early. Ca. 70% are overweight in my country a study says. When I visited China there were almost no overweight people and in addition people looked so young. Many in their 40s could pass as early 30s or late 20s where I lives.
It's a bit uncomfortable admitting this but I had a bias towards lighter/fairer skin at first. I think that was culturally ingrained from Japan and what was popular in US at the time (like blondes with blue eyes). But that experience in Singapore might have been a transitioning step, where I found this dark-skinned Indonesian girl to be a total bitch at first, then when she spilled glue all over my drawing and cried and hugged me and asked for forgiveness, the heart melts. And her skin was soft and smooth, and she was so pretty at that moment. Might have opened me up a bit to favoring black women in the US. That sounds so stupid and racist but I had stepping stones there to broaden my horizons, to find more people pretty than what my instincts originally told me.
My racial preferences are independent from culture and are only based on appearance alone. When talking of cultural preferences I just calls it "cultural preferences" or "ethnic preferences". In addition I've personality preferences that's also separate from race. I would say my cultural preference are Western because of they're more open for gender equality and doesn't follow as strict religious rules. I prefer it secular. I wants to eat and wear what I wants to without having a partner being upset because of religious reasons. If I wants bacon, I'm going to eat it.
I prefer to date ethnic Norwegians both because of the culture and language. If we've the same first language, it's much easier to communicate fluently.
That means I can prefer to date an ethnic Norwegian with either an Asian, middle-eastern, South-American or South-European appearance.
The culture thing definitely helps. I even dated French girl in Japan who could speak fluent Japanese and spent over a decade there, and that's an example where it almost felt like I was dating Japanese (though she teased me a bit about my inability to speak French). That cultural component is sometimes treated as inseparable from race, and I think that's a mistake if it includes language and ways of perceiving the world and things of this sort. Being biracial and bouncing between 3 cultures though, I was always somewhat a foreigner no matter where I went, so I never found a "home culture" exactly. The closest is maybe Japan but I'm still considered a bit of a foreigner here since I can't read kanji so well (missed my middle and high schooling) and still half-white. So I got to favor a wide range of cultures but still ended up going full circle and marrying Japanese. Maybe that is the most familiar to me. But in terms of basic attraction, I have no racial/ethnic preferences as far as I can tell.
I think I came to attract foreigners too. It's like I'm in Japan and I end up dating French girl. I'm in Taiwan and end up dating Korean. I'm in France and end up dating German. It's like I drew the tourists. :-D Because I'm a foreigner as well, all the time. It's hard for me to navigate inside a culture. I'm always kind of outside.
I consider culture and race as two entirely separate things although many sees it as extremely connected. I consider myself an ethnic Norwegian because of my culture and language. People telling me otherwise just makes me annoyed, not confused. My home culture is Norwegian. Both of my parents are Norwegians and I was adopted.
My sister gets irritated a lot that way as well. She came to the US in middle school years and came to get used to it very well and fit in and started identifying as "American", so she got annoyed with people asking where she's from and things of this sort. I bounced too much between cultures growing up and so I never got annoyed -- I'm just a constant foreigner. :-D I don't know what I am! But I liked many girls. I knew that at least.
Come to think of it though, my sister only dated white guys. She is now married to a good-looking white guy with light brown hair and blue eyes. I dated a much more diverse range as far as races/ethnicities go, and maybe in part because I bounced between cultures more in the formative years. Probably nurture plays a stronger role in all of this than nature.
Haha! Of course it is nurture. What else could it be? One of the weirdest things about GaG is this concept of race vs culture. Most of us live in the United States. We are aware that "White" beauty standards are the norm and are valued. The whole new wave of trying to push different cultural standards into the mainstream has received a lot of pushback. It is as if though the point is that these beauty standards are actually objective and should be honored by those of all supposed "races". Which is cool, but basically that means that people can be conditioned to see beauty standards in other cultures as desired. That's why we have so many folks skin bleaching, changing their hair, look, appearance, etc.
It simply seems that most of these questions are really about the political situation in the United States and not about actually trying to understand human diversity, cultural identity, etc.
"Nature = We naturally gets drawn to familiarity and humans are tribal by nature."
Are you sure that is "nature"? Familiarity and tribe is not really hard wired into humans. I guess I am talking about genetics and genetic programming when you talk about nature.
In order words, what we consider to be attractive is subjective. I mean, I would think you would understand more this more than most. Norwegians accept you, despite your phenotype. That's all I am saying.
Racial preferences is something that white people created to put themselves on the top of the mountain and all non-white people are stupid enough to actually buy into it. Isn't it interesting that this so-called white race is actually the race that is destroying the planet far more than any other race? Whether it's deforestation, chemicals in the food such as GMO - that causes cancer, obesity and other heart related illnesses; oil leaks in the fucking ocean, thousands of old & broken down satellites in space that's hovers in our atmosphere, global fucking warming, thousands of species that are becoming extinct on a daily bases; and somehow, white people see themselves to be somthing special? White people is the world's biggest joke and the only one who's laughing, is the devil himself!
I see you've racial prejudices against white people. Not all white people are bad and they've done many good things like advanced medical technology and other inventions. Both computers, internet, phones, electricity, the light bulb, many machines etc. were made of either white people or people of European ancestry. You can't blame all whites for the colonies, pollution etc.
People around the globe have done slavery, oligarchies, dictatorships, genocide, wars, torture etc., but people have also done inventions, economic growth, art etc. too. So all people does good and bad around the world.
sorry I mis-clicked on the wrong one it is nurture and psychology has it down as "learned behaviour" under the DSM. What that means is someone close to the child (a parent or uncle etc) has those views and essentially teach the child too be like that as well because kids look too adults too learn from and when they see someone being racist, sexist homophobic or transphobic they always copy them it is down to the parents to correct them if they don’t then they are saying to the child that is is okay to behave is these disgusting manners.
It's a bit of both. I'm pretty sure that the place and culture you grow up in basically shape what you are attracted to. That would be the nurture part. But why it works like this is the nature part. This is the group that is basically "your" group. You're familiar with them and they aren't a threat. But people of other races look different and therefore might be dangerous. That's why it would be safer to stick to your own group. Or does this make the entire thing a nature factor? I've confused myself.
You're more likely to date people who are like people you've dated in the past, because that's what you know. And you're more likely to date someone you identify with on some level. Generally this is more revolved around personality type and culture. Shared experiences and so on. But oftentimes ethnicity and culture have a lot of strong overlap. If you identified with someone of another race who shared your culture and similar experiences, like back in highschool and college then went on to date that person. After them you're more likely to date someone from that race IF that person had a relatively similar cultural life experience to you.
Little children don't fear and exclude others of different races. Preschool children accept each other as they are. Yes, they have their differences, but not based on race. Research backs this up. So apparently racism is a learned mindset. On the other hand, racism seems to have originated among adults from arrogance and fear of those who are different, both of which are innate human qualities. So maybe both nature and nurture have played a role.
This is an excellent question and a good way to get people thinking about something we usually shy away from. My personal hope is that humankind will someday outgrow and transcend racism.
There are certain characteristics we are usually drawn to universally. Which are also being proven by research. Racial preferences have thus far no scientific basis, so they are purely Nurture. In any given culture racial preferences can vary, most people having no preference. Brazil a good example.
I read something interesting once. In India today women try to make their skin more lighter, it is attributed to caste system prevalent in India. However when Ibn Battuta traveled India centuries ago dark skin was seen as more attractive.
For me there are some (particularly one race especially) that I have never found attractive my whole life which means that was regardless of society or influences of others.
There is another group that I only found mildly attractive to begin with, but as time went on I became more attracted to them than I used to be, likely due to experiences I had with multiple people from their race made me like them more. But I still had found them somewhat attractive to begin with.
I don't think attraction can be gained for a type of person if there was initially no attraction at all. There has to be at least some initial attraction for it to be increased or decreased.
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Anonymous
(36-45)
+1 y
It's both I think.
Nature because everyone has at least one physical trait they find very attractive. These specific features tend to occur more, or easily in some races than in others e. g. Blue/Gray eyes in Northern and Eastern European women, Long hair in all races but Africans, etc. While it is true that these features can occur in other races, the "pool" is smaller. Especially when you transition to other compatibility factors in choosing someone.
Nurture because it is common, and easy for people to follow perceived stereotypes about different races; the idea that Asian women are more submissive for example, or that black men are well-endowed, etc. Stereotypes extend to assumptions on personality as well, which then influence our views on a particular race, and our willingness to date them.
I believe that marriage across race lines leads to problems with the children. You are white, black and mixed. The mixed children do not belong to either groups, so they never really fit. Any arguments against will be from black or coloured people. That is the truth of the matter no matter how left your leanings, look around you and see. Do not attack me now, it will just show your ignorance about life. Yes I was a social justice warrior, but I am afraid to say that I have not seen it work at all. I know a English man married a African women and have 2 children, I have met the children and they are just like normal kids, but the father said there have been issues.
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Anonymous
(25-29)
+1 y
I’d say nature but maybe some nurture. My parents were kinda racist growing up and there was like 99% white people where I lived. For most of my life I was attracted to white guys mostly. Then I met my boyfriend who’s Mexican and liked him so nurture went out the window and nature kicked in.
Honestly I think I’d now find most white guys boring because my boyfriend is so different because of his culture. I’m never bored around him because he’s outgoing and touchy feely where I’m quiet and keep to myself. Most white guys around where I live aren’t often warm and friendly like in Mexican culture. White guys never seemed to like me and only went for outgoing, bubbly, super feminine girls. So I kinda rejected nurture and the society that I was familiar with and found one that was better for me.
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Anonymous
(18-24)
+1 y
I feel like it's a combination of both. It's still debatable as to whether being attracted to the same sex is nature or nurture, but in terms of attraction in general the answer always seems to be both nature and nurture. However, I think a lot of people also date away from certain races due to prejudices, and in this way it's nurture. Which I wouldn't say that's dealing with attraction as much as personal judgements. I'm not saying that people who have racial preferences are racist, but a lot of racists have racial preferences.
"It's still debatable as to whether being attracted to the same sex is nature or nurture"
No it's not.
"Family, twin, and adoptee studies indicate that homosexuality and thus heterosexuality run in families. Sibling, twin, and adoptee concordance rates are compatible with the hypothesis that genes account for at least half of the variance in sexual orientation" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9549243
The first law of behavioral genetics is that all behavioral traits are partly genetic and environmental, we've known that sexual orientation has been genetic and environmental for a while now. Homosexuals even have different brain structures, particularly in the Amygdala. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4987404/
@ForbesMagazine Okay cool my bad then. I've been told different things by different people so that's why I said it's still debatable, since people are still debating it lol.
Nature. You do not choose who or what you're attracted to.
I cannot look at a person and simply "decide" that I'm going to be attracted to that. It's innate, just like basic sexuality. Can it be affected by your own experiences? Sure, but that doesn't mean it's entirely one or the other. It's a little mix of both in my opinion.
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Anonymous
(30-35)
+1 y
I think its a combination. I grew up around different races. I went to school with white, black and Mexican. My dad hung out with a group of black men and those men were horrible and it didn't change my view completely but it did some. There were like 15-20 black men around and all of them drank, and beat the hell out of their white women in front of me, and called them white names ( which confused me). I know not all are the same but that changed my idea of friendship and relationships with black men. The only problem i had with the Mexicans i went to school with is when i know they spoke perfect English but just to cut me out of the conversation, they spoke Spanish. So i didn't grow up knowing hate against any color or race but I've been offended by them and learned.
This is definitely taught because how do you actually really ever know what you’re type is until you’ve really experienced everything? The world is sooo vast and large that you can never really know who exists that might just change up everything for you.
As with all things about humanity, nature and nurture are simultaneously intertwined and often times inseparable. Science has proven this already. Everything is nature AND nurture. Well, maybe not every single tiny detail but most human behavior? Yes.
Living beings basically operate on a very general "code". Because evolution changes us constantly you can't have some in built preference for something or its going to fuck up if for example the species suddenly grows a tail to survive or changes skin pigmentation. Because of this simple fact "racial preference" is something you must learn as you grow up.
I have two different cultures in my family. It very hard for me to have ever just like one by that fact alone.
I always had a tendency to attracted different races for whatever odd reason since I got my first training bra. It isn't till here a few years ago that I even notice that was a thing as far races etc. Goes. I respect both sides. Everyone reserve the right to like what they like with no questions or convictions giving or asked from me anyway.
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Anonymous
(25-29)
+1 y
Probably a bit of both. For example when your family is racist you’re more likely to fall for someone of the same race. But I personally find that I am attracted to Asian people more than any other race, (say I’m attracted to 10% of the white people I meet, I’m attracted to 40% of Asian people I meet, this is just an estimate) and I wasn’t brought up with the idea that Asians were attractive so it is probably nature in my case. But this is a very interesting question I had never thought about this.
Alright well I actually just took a psychology class last semester. I think it's a bit of both. Mainly, however, I'm going to say it's nature. Two blue birds in nature don't have to be taught to go after other blue birds instead of robins or cardinals. Although some of it is their parents and the people close to them, who's race they'll probably prefer because they're used to it, people will normally just be drawn to people more similar to themselves. That's what I think anyways.
I don't think their either. I don't honestly think preference as a whole is either. It's common that your preferences change throughout life. As for why they change, that is usually based on experience, whether too much of it or lack of. Even if you were taught to like something, it doesn't mean you will. If everyone else around you likes said thing, it doesn't mean you will. Your tastes are based on you and you alone, generally speaking. Exceptions apply respectively.
It’s only racist if you make it racist. I don’t like blondes nor did I ever think I’d find them attractive, and whenever someone would ask me if I would date a blonde guy with blue eyes I’d be like nah I’m good. Ultimately, I ended up with a blonde guy soooo you can have a set of rules or parameters but there could be a spark with someone and what makes it racist to me is not allowing yourself to like that person because they go against your acceptable race or whatever.
I would say more nature than nurture, culture is the byproduct of racial/linguistic identity. A mixed race individual who is half African and English will have a tendency to favour a certain identity. In all of use there is an intrinsic need for identity.
Nature, human races evolved miles apart from each other. They had to adapt to their unique environment and to work closely together to survive. This had to have caused multiple adaptations for fitting with each other and playing off each other. Small wonder that we all prefer our own race. This is why the cultural Marxists and big corporations controlling them will not get their mixed slave race. There will always be black , white, brown etc people whether they like it or not.
I think it's probably mix, more nurture in it. If a white couple adopt an Asian baby girl and raise her in Germany for ex, she will have a taste similar to other German girls. Also racial preferences are often closely related to cultural contrasts. people are drawn to different races at the extent they can understand each other, when a French girl is going to choose a black guy, he most likely is from Algeria or some other French-speaking African countries.
I'm Norwegian and have been there my entire life, but was adopted from mainland China. My preferences are Asian, Middle-eastern, South-European and South-American appearance although a Nordic appearance with a very light tan has been the beauty standard in Scandinavia for a very long time. I don't find Nordic people and Sub-Saharan Africans as attractive as frequently as my preferences, but I can still see attractive people around the globe. To me my preferences is much about frequency; on how often I find a particular group attractive and who tends to be most attractive. Most people I knows have either no preferences or prefer only Nordics, but some of the young women prefer black men.
I'm not stubborn about my opinion. That was something a professor of anthropology told me (i think it was just a hypothesis anyway). But it could be different about how guys and girls. As guys are more adventurous but girls seek familiarity
Personally I can’t sleep with Asian men because they remind me of my step dad who is Asian (he married my mum when I was a small child). I don’t know why this is. I have been called racist for this but I can assure you coming from a multi ethnic family I am not.
neither... its personal preference.. well for me it is anyway, i dont give a fuck what my parents think i should go for (nurture) neither was it genetically ingrained into my DNA about what i should be attracted to... for the first few years of my life i was only attracted to whites like myself, then when i was like 13 i started finding black ebony chicks hot, ... its all how u look at it
These days it is TV and movies deciding girl's racial preferences I mean they push white guy and black girl in everything so a small percentage of women think that is normal so they do it or they want to be like these people they see on TV or in movies that is all part of it.
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Anonymous
(25-29)
+1 y
I think it's nurture and environment. I am Chinese myself and I find white girls to be the most attractive. I find white women to be exotic, as many asiatic people thought this way throughout history. People tell me I'm attractive for an Asian guy which is a huge backhanded compliment. Most white girls I come across either go for white, black or some middle eastern men and typically do not find Asian men attractive due to the feminization of Asian masculinity in western society (small package size). As beauty is extremely eurocentric for men and women, Asian men are the complete opposite of that. All these societal factors combined with some racist upbringing can make a huge difference in a white girl's opinion of Asian guys. So it truly depends on upbringing and the environment
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Anonymous
(45 Plus)
+1 y
I think it's partly nature. I'm white, when I was little I remember digging through a bunch of barbie dolls in a box. I grabbed one that had brown skin and dark hair. I took it with me and I hid it in my bedroom. I really liked it, I would stare at it. Now, I can be attracted to all kinds of women, but I do have some natural attraction to women with darker skin.
People are attracted to different: hair (lengths, styles, colors, shade of color), eyes (color & shape) size of nose, size of ears, shape of face, heights, figures, skin tones, amount of body hair etc. It seems to be more of what you were brought up around and what you interact with. To me it seems people more so than not want someone with a similar cultural background.
The first law of behavioral genetics is that ALL behavioral traits are partly genetic and partly environmental... so it has to be both, no question.
I'm not familiar of any heritability studies on this topic, but if there are then we can get a clearer picture of the difference in variance between individuals.
Nature. Its natural for people to have preference for their own kind.
I never understood how can someone prefer a man or woman that isn't of your own people since you come from the same background and look similar to one another from a phenotype perspective.
You are born a certain way with certain preferences. However the environment you grew up in can heavily influence what you prefer. A lot of people grew up in communities where there was a gap in the amount of citizens of each race. This gap has been seen less often in communities which may contribute to the rise of interracial couples.
I’ve grown up around white men, so i only date whites men because i’m comfortable with them. i’m used to their culture and their family dynamics. and they can be fucking gorgeous. but then again so can any race
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Anonymous
(30-35)
+1 y
This might sound weird, yet I think people are attracted to either what they find interesting, alluring or exotic or maybe what's very familiar to them.
I look mixed, I have curly hair, tan skin, green eyes and am slim-petite. I've seen guys who approach me dont look like me at all. Either they have sleek hair, are white, or very dark skin and muscular.
Well it's how you were brought up. I have dated and slept with women of all races, creeds, colors, culture, religions etc... Its been amazing! But my mom and dad were so open.
But I do get dating who you are comfortable with.
I just say stay open, positive and have fun. Create special moments and memories that are uncanny, fulfilling and unmatched.
There are societies that keep within their own race and families reinforce that often and then likewise it's natural to be attracted to your own race and have a natural pull towards your own race.
Don't get your panties in a twist, boys. What we define as "race" is far more than just phenotypes. Genetics shows us that our defined races rarely ever correlate with our distinction between the "races".
It's funny how you throw this long of a tantrum for nothing, lol. Because clearly you didn't understand the actual point of the article. You're bitching about things that aren't even the point. Oh, you funny "rationalists". :D
Nurture, new genetic material is needed to keep a population healthy, diverse, and void of birth defects so therefore it would be advantageous to the species.
Nurture because people tend to date people who share their culture/beliefs. Those things tend to follow along racial lines thanks to the media driving racial divisions between groups so that we can't all have one culture.
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Anonymous
(25-29)
+1 y
It depends on culture and country. In some Asian countries white people are seen very beautiful but in western being tan and having darker skin colour can be seen beautiful too. I dont know why but for me black people are rarely attractive to me. For me blond hair colour is really beautiful. Therefore scandinavian people are very beautiful to me. Maybe it is because I see rarely black people in my surroundings.
Definitely more nature. There has been some research on womens racial preferences and the correlation to their cycle. During ovulation their ingroup-preference increased by quite a bit.
Throughout our recent evolutionary history, meeting different humans often entailed disease and war. Therefore, we have a natural inclination to prefer our own race.
Nurture. Factually you cannot say its nature because everyone is related in small percentages, to say racially you don't prefer someone is to say that you prefer don't prefer that someone else race wise.
I agree. If children (from different racial backgrounds) grow up together, there's no problem as far as the children are concerned, from what I've observed. But babies/young toddlers will often chose a white teddy bear/doll over a darker one, if offered a choice.
True! Kids are so pure... once we were at a restaurant that had a playground. So my brother went off and after a while we observed that he was playing with two other children, who were both from other countries. So 3 kids, 3 different languages, 2 different races. But they found a way to communicate and play with each other. It could teach some adults a lot...
I think both. In my case, nurture definitely plays a part. As someone who grew up in Latin America, I tend to prefer latinos with a similar cultural background.
Society can have an impact but a very small one, the objects of attraction are always determined at a subconscious level, be it a particular kind of race, behaviour or even being a different or same sex
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