The Effect of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination on Black Women's Self-Esteem in Online Dating

The inspiration for this reflection came from a personal experience using dating apps as a black and African woman in Canada.

A couple of years ago, after a divorce following my move to Montreal, my reality as a single mother and working student with limited time for social interactions made dating apps an optimal dating option. It was also the first time I dated in a predominantly white environment. I was surprised by the amount of specific ethnic and animalistic allusions that came as compliments from my interactions with men from other races. Sexual interactions as starter conversations were also the norm, even for those considered serious dating apps.

Unfortunately, several studies on black women's experiences on dating apps seem to confirm this is not a unique experience. I was also intrigued by the lack of awareness of how insulting these interactions are, which made me wonder how people formulate such schemas about black and African women. Schemas are mental structures that organize our knowledge about others, ourselves, social roles and specific events. in this article, I discuss schema, accessibility and its implication for black women's self-esteem in the context of dating apps.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

It helps to revisit a few basic concepts that I have used as the frameworks to better understand how stereotypical interactions affect ones self-esteem. In this regards, both schemas (Bartley, 1932; Heine, Proulx et Vohs, 2006; Janicik et Larrick, 2005; Markus,1977) and the Looking-Glass self (Cooley,1902; mead,1934) (Mark Leary,1999,2004; Leary & Baumeister, 2000) theories are essential considerations as they reflect the relationship between the self, social perception, and self-esteem.

Schema is a general term that surrounds our knowledge about many things people, ourselves, social roles and specific events and help us form our first impression of people, event or concepts, they influences what people notice, think, and remember about themselves and others (Aronson, et al, 2022, .P53).

Schemas are part of automatic thinking and are generally nonconscious, unintentional, involuntary and faultless (Aronson et al., 2022, P53) which also makes them even more difficult to change unless one consciously applies rational thinking. In short, our human nature makes us vulnerable to stereotypes and bias.

Stereotypes indeed are a type of schemas. They organize information and knowledges about people from different social categories and inform the way we make a judgement about them. Stereotypes are generally unfavourable as they make us generalize a group of people with minimal to no consideration of their individual characteristics. (Aronson, et al, 2022, .P53)

Not only are stereotypes pejorative, they also impact people’s self-esteem. According to the self (self-schema theories), one person’s beliefs about themselves influence their world views, actions, the information they retain and how they evaluate this information.

Cooley’s theory highlights that people do not develop their sense of self in isolation; they use social interaction as a “mirror,” comparing their own worth, principles, and actions to what others may think of them. This process is known as the looking-glass self. Indeed, when someone is constantly reminded of a critical voice, they internalize it and start hearing it as their own.

The Looking-Glass self (Cooley’s, 1902) is the idea that individuals learn to see themselves through other people's eyes and that how other people see us influences their beliefs about themselves. In other words, other people serve as a mirror to us. (Aronson, et al, 2022, .P53)

Self-esteem is defined as people’s evaluation of their own self-worth. (Aronson, et al, 2022, .P53). In that sense, stigma and discrimination distort people’s perception of their own self-worth. By internalizing the image reflected in by society through harmful stereotypes, people start viewing themselves as such. This has a detrimental effect on their mental health because the feeling of rejection speaks directly to the human evolutionary need to belong.

Both schemas and the Looking-Glass self-theories interconnect in the sense that they impact the development of self. Schemas can be positive (e.g., Halo effect) or negative as stereotypes. Likewise, the Looking-Glass self comes as a reflection of the internal audience we have in mind. Whether it is a positive or a hostile audience will determine how we evaluate our self-worth.

Now let’s go back to our analysis of black women dating experience on predominantly white space.

THE EXPERIENCE OF BLACK WOMEN ON PREDOMINANTLY WHITE SPACE

STERIOTYPICAL SCHEMAS GOVERN BLACK WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE ON PREDOMINANTLY WHITE ONLINE DATING APP.

Schemas regarding a particular group influence how we initially see members of that group. (Aronson et al., 2022,.P53) Regrettably, race is a factor that affects how individuals from various racial groups perceive and interact with one another in society as a whole, and dating apps are no exception.

Stereotypes are mental representations of social groups and their members that are widely shared (Hamilton & Sherman, 1994). Researchers have found that racial stereotypes and societal beauty standards play a role in interracial attraction. This is no exception on predominantly white online dating apps where Black women are approached through a stereotypical lens—the type of interactions they experience are based on stereotypical schemas formulated upon them. As a result, most black women report a negative experience in dating apps as they feel constantly chased and objectified by men who only view them as sex partners (Carter, 2022). Numerous studies have also found that Black women are more susceptible to being objectified than any other ethnic group and that objectification occurs on the sole base of their race (Anderson, 2018).

There are numerous stereotypes that black women encounter on dating apps, including:

RACIALIZED BEAUTY STANDARD

Racist attitudes can be strengthened in social interactions by racialized beauty standards and racial stereotypes. On dating sites, black women are typically viewed as being less beautiful. According to a study on online dating preferences, Asian men and Black women make the worst matches on dating apps (Rudder, 2014). Skin tone can significantly impact how people are seen as being lovely or attractive, as Western society's criteria of beauty are frequently centred on a White, European ideal of attractiveness. Skin tone significantly impacts how attractive people are viewed by others (Anderson, 2018). These affect the initial interaction with black women, as men from other races perceive their attempt to connect with black women as a favour and something black women should be grateful for to begin with.

ANIMALIZATION

One thing that was consistent in my personal interaction as an African woman was the insistence on the smell of African women. It was presented in most of my interactions with white men as something we should be proud of, a specific odour and taste from our vaginal that makes them addicted to African women. I used to be so confused on what they meant by that.

Negative olfactory stereotypes have been used against persons with dark complexion since the first meetings between Europeans and people of African heritage. African-Americans' purported stench has often been connected to claims of their sexual immorality (Ferranti, 2011). Ferranti also argues that the Black female's alleged sexual prowess was intrinsically linked to her smell. There are several historical instances connecting odour with sexual attractiveness, even if the impact of pheromones on human libido has yet to be proven.

The fact that black women are constantly likened to objects and animals highlights how animalistic dehumanization persists for them. Furthermore, a body of research suggests that Black women are more strongly implicitly associated with animal and object concepts than white women, which shows a strong dehumanization effect specifically on black women (Anderson et al., 2018).

JEZEBEL STEREOTYPE - BLACK WOMAN SEXUAL OBJECTIFICATION

Jezebel is a stereotype of African women frequently present on dating apps. It affirms the sexualization of Black women and contributes to their objectification by others. In fact, a vast body of research indicates that a target's objectification is facilitated by being presented in sexualized ways (e.g., Holland & Haslam, 2013; Loughnan et al., 2010). A form of discrimination known as sexual racism is practised in sexual or romantic contexts. It is a complicated phenomenon that may interact with prejudice against certain races. Ramasubamanian (2011) (2011) Many racial and ethnic groups are marginalized by ethno-sexual stereotypes in sexual or romantic contexts (Nagel 2000). Several pieces of data also support the idea that reducing Black people to inanimate items dehumanizes them. One way for this to happen is through the process of being turned into a sexual object, in which case the person loses their human identity and becomes only a tool that can be exploited for the pleasure of others (mechanistic dehumanization; Bartky, 1990).

Needless to say how worry I was, to realize that in Western society, the experience of being sexually objectified is growing more prevalent. (e.g., Holland, Koval, Stratemeyer, Thomson, & Haslam, 2017; Swim, Hyers, Cohen, & Ferguson, 2001), especially for women compared to men (Swim et al., 2001). This makes me curious about why and how people formulate such schemas in the first place.

HOW PEOPLE FORMULATE THEIR SCHEMAS ON BLACK WOMEN

People draw their schema on black women directly from history/legacy and experience with racism and discrimination.

It appears evident that the centering of Whiteness and Western ideal may facilitate objectification. Ferranti (2011) argues that a social group's susceptibility to objectification is also influenced by various elements, including its history of sexualization and oppression.

During slavery, when African American women's bodies were socially controlled as sexual objects based on racist, classist, and sexist views, the Jezebel stereotype was particularly prevalent (Donovan, 2007). (hooks, 1981). In a study “Revisiting the Jezebel Stereotype: The Impact of Target Race on Sexual Objectification” by Anderson et al. (2018), results suggested that visual objectification of Black women by White participants is stronger than that of White women, and this impact is more evident in sexualized situations.

Schemas accessibility plays a role as well. Accessibility is described as “the extent to which schemas and concepts are at the forefronts of people’s minds and are, therefore, likely to be used when making judgments about the social world” (Aronson et al. 2022, P53). Stereotypical schemas on black women is made accessible and is reinforced by the media. According to Ramasubamanian (2011), exposure to stereotypical Black media characters as opposed to exposure to counter-stereotypical media characters had an impact on real-world beliefs about Black stereotypes, internal attributions for this group's perceived failings, prejudicial feelings, and lack of support for affirmative action policies that benefit minorities.

Unfortunately, many stereotypes of black women, including the jezebel stereotypes, still persist today because of the lack of diversity in Black women's experience, as they are portrayed in mainstream media as a monolith. Recent research suggests that Black women are hypersexualized to a greater degree in the media than White women. Indeed, media (T.V. shows, advertisements, music videos, fashion trends, etc.) perpetrates harmful stereotypes through their representations of beauty and racial stereotypes, which affects interracial attraction. (Sekayi 2003).

This reality is transferred to the online dating world where black women constantly experience confusion, coupled with feelings of unsafety and powerlessness, as a result of being simultaneously admired, rejected, objectified and degrade to a status of an object (Carter, 2022).

IMPACT OF SUCH INTERACTION ON BLACK WOMEN SELF-ESTEEM

In 2018 Brondolo et al. proposed a theoretical framework connecting racial discrimination on all levels (such as communication, institutional policies and practices, and interpersonal behaviours) with health outcomes. Hence, apparent the damaging impact of pejorative schemas. Returning to the “Looking-Glass Self” theory, self-esteem is an individual’s appraisal of their self-worth and is grounded in interpersonal experiences (Johnson A, 2020). Individuals develop schemas about themselves, their peers, and the world via life and educational experiences.

In a 1997 study, Fredrickson and Roberts further used the "Looking-Glass self" theory to support the link between stereotypes and low self-esteem. Their study discussed how black women become subjected to interpersonal objectification and media stereotypes, which leads them to internalize an observer's perspective and begin viewing themselves via an objectified lens. This distorted self-image negatively impacts their mental, bringing body shame and depression (Fredrickson and Roberts 1997).

POOR BODY IMAGE

The rejection of black women's beauty also impacts their self-esteem. For example, Robinson-Moore (2008) found that the Black community internalizes European beauty constructs and that darker-skinned women experienced feelings of isolation, resulting in lowered self-esteem that limited their social and employment opportunities. I am happy to see an opposing trend emerging, thanks to body activisism on social media.

EXPERIENCE OF SHAME

Black women also experience shame due to rejection, dehumanization or objectification in predominantly white dating apps. And this affects their self-esteem. Shame's consequences on mental health must be taken seriously, as shame has been associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes.

Several researchers found that the threats to one’s social identity lower one’s self-esteem and elicit shame experiences. The studies also revealed a connection between feelings of shame and low self-esteem (Greene & Britton, Citation2013; Reilly et al., Citation2014). Indeed, social identity threats reduce one's self-esteem and induce the feeling of shame. Studies also demonstrated a link between poor self-esteem and emotions of shame (Greene & Britton, Citation2013; Reilly et al., Citation2014)

Racial stereotypes, media portrayals of beauty, and sexual racism also significantly impact interracial attraction, affect people’s of colour's self-worth and self-esteem, and promote racist and negative views of black communities. This also result in shame as the spcychological coping strategies for shame such as withdrawal and avoidance have been linked to low self-esteem (Ellison & Partridge, Citation2012).

In the article “I Am Woman: The Impact of Social Identities on African American Women's Mental Health,” Pamela Braboy Jackson, P.B. et Mustillo, S. (2001) examined the psychological impact of social identities among a sample of African American women. Social identities are related to self-concept development; Discrimination impacts the social self and has implications for one self-perception, happiness and overall mental health.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the presence of racial and ethnic schemas on predominant white dating apps negatively impacts black women's self-esteem. We found that because of schemas that govern interaction with black women on predominantly white online dating apps, these interactions

tend to base on specific stereotypes originating from the history of racism and discrimination made available and perpetuated by media.

Black women also experience confusion, coupled with feelings of unsafety and powerlessness, as a result of being simultaneously admired, rejected, objectified and degrade to a status of an object. In addition, Black women tendency to adopt the observer point of view and internalized stereotypes placed upon them, come at a high cost of their mental health and self-esteem. This can result in isolation, distress and other copying mechanisms.

Since stereotypes and bias are part of our human nature, it is therefore essential to be conscious of our own schemas and be mindful of how they affect our judgment and could have repercussions on the mental health of the people we interact with. It becomes crucial to pause, reflect on we, and apply conscious and rational thinking when engaging on dating apps or in the world at large. Further applied researches are needed to examine effective ways of avoiding and deconstructing racial and ethnic schemas in order to provide a safer and more positive interaction for black women and for all