Dating Patterns of Black Students on White Southern Campuses

Black and White interracial dating has traditionally caused emotional responses and conflict in our society, especially between Black men and Black women.Interviews by Downs (197 1) indicated that Black women perceived themselves to be threatened by White women and rejected by Black men who date interracially.Day (1972) hypothesized that Black men date White women as a way of vicariously gaining power in society.She pointed out, however, that "the desire for the Black man to prove himself sexually with a White partner has provoked a bitter conflict between Black males and Black females" (p.8).Willie and Levy (1972) found that Black coeds resented competing for Black men with White women, who they believed had the availability of both Black and White men.Most of these data, however, were collected during the latter 1960s, and it is possible that increased desegregation may have altered these attitudes.Only a few studies over the last decade have included investigation of some aspect of interracial dating.In the populations that have been studied, the majority of students on White campuses, regardless of race, have experienced some interracial dating with men being more active than women (Lampe, 198 1).Earlier researchers suggested that interracial sex was the major motivation behind interracial dating (see Day, 1972;Sebald, 1974;Willie & Levy, 1972).The motives for dating interracially, however, seem to be the same as for dating intraracially with few students interracially dating for sex, curiosity, or to prove a lack of prejudice (Lampe, 1982).