Does race affect attractiveness?

[Christopher]

LSE lecturer causes race row and much debate:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/19/lse-academic-triggers-race-row

The article in question:

http://www.quora.com/What-makes-Why...ally-Attractive-Than-Other-Women-unscientific

Dude's just mad 'cos he pulled a black chick and didn't measure up.

It is very interesting to note that, even though black women are objectively less physically attractive than other women, black women (and men) subjectively consider themselves to be far more physically attractive than others.

What a ****ing idiot. His 'experiment' also 'proves' that black men are much more attractive than white men, yet his language clearly demonstrates a racist outset. I especially abhor the bit where he slips in that all black people are less intelligent than all white people, as if that was actually a proven fact and not just the mad ramblings of another racist guy with a phd. It is worth pointing out that the author of this study is Japanese, not white. As far as I know the Japanese aren't politically correct and they don't have to be towards black people as they didn't colonize Africa or partake in the African slave trade so they are less likely to be guilt tripped into sugar coating facts.

 

[Selfless705]

Wow, what an idiot! He is literally just stating his racist opinion as a fact. Anyone who believes or follows him at all are completely idiotic. Things like this just make me sick!

But I have to admit Chris the title of this made me cringe 😛

 

[spikecakes]

Ahahahaha.

What.

I'm just going to say, black women are hot. As are black men. As are white men, and women. Humans are hot! I can't be doing with people like that. It's completely irrelevant to anything.

 

[VisionGirl]

Can you repost the links, I can't pull either of them up.

And what is that old saying: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? 😉

 

[spikecakes]

Christopher agrees: I'd argue that most humans regardless of colour/race are far, FAR from hot. I'd say I find about 11% of women I see and 2% of males I see attractive on any given day.

I mean it as every 'race' has its beautiful people. It's all a matter of opinion who we consider hot, really.

 

[Cast No Shadow]

It's a matter of taste, not factual in any way.

 

[spikecakes]

Christopher agrees: I agree, Beyonce and Tupac are two blacks that I am particularly fond of visually. As a matter of fact I think black people have higher highs then whites, but a slightly lower average when it comes to looks.

I adore Tupac, beautiful man.

Well, to be totally random, my boyfriend is black and I fancy the socks off him. That is all.

 

[VisionGirl]

Thanks for the new links!

From the 1st one: "Kanazawa has been criticised in the past for substandard research in the area of race and intelligence." So, doesn't appear to be the first time, sounds like he is accused of manipulating data.

So, I'm looking at the article itself: LOL, that's research?! And sure men aren't as picky as women when it comes to appearance: women have been socially programmed to be extremely critical of their own and other womens' appearance.

How 'bout this: "Nor can the race difference in intelligence (and the positive association between intelligence and physical attractiveness) account for the race difference in physical attractiveness among women." Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor. It's unfathomable to me that people like this still exist in the world.

 

[Ms.Trick]

Makes me think of that:

[ame="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh6wv1_le-test-de-la-poupee-blanche-et-de-la-poupee-noire_lifestyle"]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh6wv1_le-test-de-la-poupee-blanche-et-de-la-poupee-noire_lifestyle[/ame]

Vague translation:

The test of the white and the black doll

In the 50's, in Segregation America, psychologist Kenneth Clark led an experiment with black kids. He wanted to measure the impact that racism had on the image those kids had of themselves. They had to chose between a black doll and a white doll. More than 50 years later, will the results be different...?
Recent various tests are overwhelming...

 

[sisterofmercy]

I will never agree that beauty in any form is objective, so that kind of claim just seems absurd.

 

[prophecygrrl]

Ethnocentric, racist steaming pile of crap. His other 'academic' papers are really gross too, if you can stand to google them.

Although I'm confused as to why his being Japanese is worth noting, unless you're talking about how Western standards of beauty are so widespread that it's not limited to just white people.

Oh, and someone directed me to this really great short documentary a few days ago that's related to this. It includes the footage Ms. Trick posted in the last few minutes, btw:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyI77Yh1Gg"]YouTube - ‪A Girl Like Me‬‏[/ame]

---------- Post added at 05:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:45 PM ----------

Christopher agrees: Japs are notoriously intolerant of blacks.

(Okay, I'm hoping the racial slur there was just an accident...😛)

I've never heard that before. I know quite a few Japanese people and I don't think Japanese people, simply because of their nationality, are particularly predisposed to having racist attitudes. Furthermore, I don't think it's correct to assume this man is representative of Japanese people simply because of his name. I actually just tried to find a biography of him, and there's no information on where or how he grew up, so there's no evidence at all that says he is influenced by Japanese culture. Let's just stick with facts here: he's wrong, racist, and a crappy "scientist".

 

[Goby]

Christopher,

I thought the way you phased the title of the thread was inappropriate.

And in a thread about racism, you refer to Japanese people as "Japs."

Not cool. 🙁

 

[Tueuse de Vampires]

Going with the whole 'beauty lies in the eye of the beholder' point of view, there is in fact such a thing as own race bias, which, without being racist, does mean we are more capable of discriminate between people of our own race and consequently are also more likely to find people of our own race attractive, as other races look more of 'all the same'.

Interestingly, when I was going to college in the US, I noticed there were a lot of white girls sleeping with black guys, but we never really saw black girls with white men. I do wonder why that is. My guess is it has something to do with the image of what a guy has to be like in the social context of African Americans/ White Americans.

 

[Skytteflickan88]

This is so dumb on so many levels. Like a personal opinion like this can be a "fact" when people have different ways of deciding what is attractive? Not one of the respondens are likely to have the same view.

"Recall that women on average are more physically attractive than men". I wonder if he checked that with gay men and straight women...

I didn't even read the whole thing. This isn't science. What is his test group? People all over the globe? What kind of black women? African, afro-american, Jamacain, etc etc? This is a personal opinion taken way too seriously.

 

[Hero]

Ok, I'm gay, but I still find women attractive. The first time I actually had sex was with a woman. lol That being said, I'm still very much gay. But, what attracts me to women the most at times is not their race, color of hair, size of their butt, but how they carry themselves. You can be white and Britney Spears hot, but be conceded and I would call you "ugly." You can be black and Halle Berry hot, but be classless and loud and I would call you "ugly." I don't care if you're Asian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, whatever...A mix of your morals, your confidence, your intelligence, and other "non-physical characterists" is what makes a woman attractive to me.

....although a big butt does help...

 

[svp]

Ok, I'm gay, but I still find women attractive. The first time I actually had sex was with a woman. lol That being said, I'm still very much gay. But, what attracts me to women the most at times is not their race, color of hair, size of their butt, but how they carry themselves. You can be white and Britney Spears hot, but be conceded and I would call you "ugly." You can be black and Halle Berry hot, but be classless and loud and I would call you "ugly." I don't care if you're Asian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, whatever...A mix of your morals, your confidence, your intelligence, and other "non-physical characterists" is what makes a woman attractive to me.

....although a big butt does help...

*Applauds loudly * (well, to everything but the big butt part, seeing as that is one department I am sorely lacking in.) And on that note, God, people are idiots. I think I'm going to do a study next where I prove, through extensive research (read:wikipedia) that all idiots who try to cover up their racist tendencies under the guise of science are morons.

 

[Washburne]

Huh, what's wrong with Japs? No different to Brits which is commonly used towards me on the forum.

I need to be educated. Saying Brit/Brits is offensive?

Jap: In the United States the term is now considered derogatory; the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary notes it is "usually disparaging". In the United Kingdom it is considered derogatory, and the Oxford dictionary defines it as offensive.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jap"]Jap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:JAPS_QUIT.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/JAPS_QUIT.jpg/220px-JAPS_QUIT.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/3/3b/JAPS_QUIT.jpg/220px-JAPS_QUIT.jpg[/ame]

I'm lazy so feel free to check The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary as well as The Oxford dictionary and possible prove it wrong.

---------- Post added at 12:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 PM ----------

Hmm, that was a different way to link. Not that it matters.

 

[MandaMeena]

I just like people and while it would be silly of me to say that I think everyone is gorgeous, it has become apparent to me over the years that I find people who "shake what their mama gave them" pretty attractive. Not that they should actually shake their bodies around, but you know.

 

[sosa lola]

Beauty is so subjective. For example I find Buffy hotter than Faith when I usually see fans saying that Faith is hotter. And find Xander and Giles more attractive than both Angel and Spike, when it's usually the opposite opinion. We have different tastes.

Makes me think of that:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh6wv1_le-test-de-la-poupee-blanche-et-de-la-poupee-noire_lifestyle

Vague translation:

The test of the white and the black doll

In the 50's, in Segregation America, psychologist Kenneth Clark led an experiment with black kids. He wanted to measure the impact that racism had on the image those kids had of themselves. They had to chose between a black doll and a white doll. More than 50 years later, will the results be different...?
Recent various tests are overwhelming...

That was so sad. 🙁

 

[Goby]

Christopher,

Words can hurt. "Jap" has been an offensive word since WWII. Before that it was fine, just like "Brit." I thought everyone knew that. I have a feeling you did too. 🙄

---------- Post added at 06:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:28 AM ----------

Ok, I'm gay, but I still find women attractive. The first time I actually had sex was with a woman. lol That being said, I'm still very much gay. But, what attracts me to women the most at times is not their race, color of hair, size of their butt, but how they carry themselves. You can be white and Britney Spears hot, but be conceded and I would call you "ugly." You can be black and Halle Berry hot, but be classless and loud and I would call you "ugly." I don't care if you're Asian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, whatever...A mix of your morals, your confidence, your intelligence, and other "non-physical characterists" is what makes a woman attractive to me.

....although a big butt does help...

Are you sure you're really gay? Come on dude, women are soft and smell nice. You might want to give them another try. (hehehe, just kidding!)

The final episode of Angel has Harmony in blue lingerie. OMG.... her body is outrageously perfect!! But she is so obnoxious, that I find her character to be ugly. In other words, I totally agree. 🙂