Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner Now An Exchange Approach To Race and the Gay Mating Marketplace Richard N. Pitt, Ph.D. Vanderbilt University - Sociology

Abstract Research on exchange and mate selection has shown that differential exchange commodities operate for men and women and for whites and racial minorities in the heterosexual coupling market. Are the socially-constructed exchange “calculations” which we assume operate in intimate relationships different when the relationship is shaped by the similar needs of same-sex partners? How are exchange calculations for people seeking interracial relationships shaped differently by sexual orientation? Using 5,000 personal advertisements, I analyze the effects of sexual orientation, gender roles, and racial identity on mate selection and the exchange processes which direct it.

Exchange Theory Assumptive Scopes Exchange relationships develop within structures of interdependence between actors. Actors behave in ways that increase outcomes they positively value and decrease outcomes they negatively value. Actors engage in recurring, mutually contingent exchange with specific partners over time. All outcomes of value obey a principle of satiation or diminishing marginal utility

Exchange Theory Assumptive Scopes Exchange relationships develop within structures of interdependence between actors. Actors behave in ways that increase outcomes they positively value and decrease outcomes they negatively value. Actors engage in recurring, mutually contingent exchange with specific partners over time. All outcomes of value obey a principle of satiation or diminishing marginal utility

Exchange Resources (Rewards) Blau (1964): Personal attraction, social acceptance, social approval, instrumental services, respect/prestige, and compliance/power. Foa & Foa (1974, 1980): Love, status, services, goods, information, and money. Merton and Davis (1941): Race and caste Gonzales & Meyers (1993): Attractiveness, financial security, expressiveness, instrumentality, sincerity, and sex. Exchange Theory “Humans seek rewards and avoid risks/punishments” Actors behave in ways that increase outcomes they positively value and decrease outcomes they negatively value

Social Acceptance Exchange Theory “Humans seek rewards and avoid risks/punishments” Actors behave in ways that increase outcomes they positively value and decrease outcomes they negatively value Exchange resources at risk in both homosexual & interracial relationships Social Approval Respect/Prestige Status Security

Questions Differences In What Exchange Variables Are Sought –Do homosexual men seek/offer different attributes than their heterosexual counterparts? Differences In Levels At Which They Seek Interracial Relationships –Are homosexual men more or less likely to seek interracial relationships than heterosexual ones. Differences In What Kinds Of Interracial Relationships They Seek –Are there differences (between Whites, Blacks, and Asians) in what kinds of interracial relationships they might seek? –Are these differences enhanced by sexual orientation?

Methodology San Francisco, CA Phoenix, AZ Denver, CO Dallas, TX Houston, TX Kansas City, KS St. Louis, MO Miami, FL Baltimore, MD Collection of nearly 7000 personal advertisements from the personal ads sections of ten cities’ free newsweeklies (i.e., City Papers): Chosen for their regional diversity and ethnic makeup. New York City, NY

San Francisco, CA Phoenix, AZ Denver, CO Dallas, TX Houston, TX Kansas City, KS St. Louis, MO Miami, FL Baltimore, MD New York City, NY

Methodology cont’d Newspaper Gender Sexual Orientation Race Age Race Desired Age Desired Type of Relationship Desired Gender Role For Self Gender Role For Other Mentions of HIV, Drugs, Children, and Religion Resources Offered/Sought –Physical Attractiveness –Financial Security –Expressive Traits –Instrumental Traits –Sincerity –Interest in Public and/or Private Relationship Trained coders recorded both objective information (e.g., race, age) and specific content categories (dichotomous, frequency, specific words) to be included in the analysis.

Desired Personal Characteristics This is the usual trend discussed in the literature

Desired Personal Characteristics Homosexual men are slightly less likely than heterosexual men to demand attractiveness. There’s no difference in success demands.

Offered Personal Characteristics This is the usual trend discussed in the literature

Offered Personal Characteristics There are larger differences in offered characteristics. Homosexual men are much more likely than heterosexual men to offer attractiveness and much less likely to offer success.

Type Of Relationship Sought Characteristics Offered Characteristics Sought Gay men more likely to seek longterm and private relationships

Race Of Desired Partner Whites, Anglo-American R Will Date This Race R Exclusively Seeks This Race + - +

Race Of Desired Partner Blacks, African-American R Will Date This Race R Exclusively Seeks This Race Black gays less likely to date Non-Blacks

Race Of Desired Partner Asian and Pacific Islanders R Will Date This Race R Exclusively Seeks This Race Asian gays are more likely to date outside of their race than both str8s AND any other ethnic group... and their primary interest is Whites.

Race Of Desired Partner Whites, Anglo-American R Will Date This Race R Exclusively Seeks This Race Lowest Level Of Interest

Findings Differences In What Exchange Variables Are Sought –Homosexual men offer physical attributes more and success attributes less Differences In Levels At Which They Seek Interracial Relationships –Generally, homosexual men are more likely to seek interracial relationships than heterosexual ones. Differences In What Kinds Of Interracial Relationships They Seek –White homosexuals are more likely to date Blacks or Latinos, but White heterosexuals are more likely to date Asians. –Blacks, generally, are probably the most diverse in their dating interests (i.e., likely to date across the racial field), BUT Black homosexuals seek Whites/Asians less than their heterosexual counterparts –Asians, generally, are most likely to date outside of their race and not date their own race exclusively. Most of that dating interest is aimed at White men. This is even more likely the case for homosexuals than for heterosexuals.

Future Directions With addition of Phoenix and New York, introduce Latinos and compare across the three ethnic Latino subgroups. Explore differences in relational assets requests/offers by race and sexual orientation –Preliminary results show that Whites who seek minority partners are more likely to demand relational assets then Whites who don’t. This is the case for Non-Whites as well. Explore the regional differences to determine impact of propinquity on interracial dating interests. Explore the impact of gender roles (i.e., butch v fem) on homosexual interracial relationship seeking –Preliminary results suggest that homosexual men seeking “butch” partners seek different partners than those seeking “fem” partners.

Whites And Exogamy

Blacks And Exogamy

Asians And Exogamy

White Straight Men