Main Theme: Exploring patterns in dating, especially racial preferences, and questioning whether one should change personal attractions to align with their values.
Key Concepts
Disturbing Dating Patterns
A young woman notices a pattern in her dating life that challenges her self-conception and values.
She embarks on a journey to see if she can change her attractions.
Core Questions
Is it possible to "hack" personal desires to align with one's values?
Should one attempt to change their natural attractions to match personal beliefs?
Racial Preferences and Intermarriage
Pew Report: Interracial marriage statistics in the U.S. 50 years after the Loving v. Virginia decision.
Study on Cyberspace Mate Selection: Interaction among heterosexual internet daters shaped by race, education, and gender.
Is Love (Color) Blind?: Examines racial preferences among gay and straight online daters.
LGBT Equality and Sexual Racism: Sexual racism as inconsistency with Loving v. Virginia's spirit.
Structural Dimensions of Romantic Preferences: Influences of structural conditions on intimacy preferences.
Just a Preference: Racial aspects in romantic and sexual interactions among gay and bisexual men.
Asian American Sexuality
Sexual Naturalization: Historical context of Asian-white miscegenation and gender/racial hierarchies.
Asian American Sexual Politics: Power dynamics shaping young Asian Americans' lives.
Asian American Women and Men: Intersection of race, gender, and class affecting Asian Americans.
Racing Romance: Interracial relationships and the logic of patriarchy and race in America.
Reflections & Ethical Considerations
The episode encourages reflections on personal biases in romantic preferences.
It raises ethical questions around the possibility and morality of changing one's attractions.
Suggested Further Reading
Intermarriage in the U.S. 50 Years after Loving v. Virginia
Mate Selection in Cyberspace
Is Love (Color) Blind?
LGBT Equality and Sexual Racism
Just a Preference
Conclusion
The episode delves into complex aspects of personal attraction, racial preferences, and the interplay of race, sexuality, and societal norms.
It challenges listeners to think critically about their own desires and the structural influences on these desires.