# Are black women generally less attractive then white women? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 27, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163 "2009-01-27T01:16:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/121 "2009-01-28T13:48:29Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > I don`t know about that. Just to offer a contrary opinion, I grew up in rural Pennsylvania in a community that was about 95% white. Moreover, the women were mostly northern European white, predominantly German decent. Lots of blondes, but even brunettes are very fair skinned. > > I am naturally attracted to literally anything other than what I grew up with. Without personality getting in the way, I find myself more attracted to black, hispanic, or asian women than white women. I rarely meet middle eastern or Indian women but I like them too. Even among white women I prefer Mediterranean looks to the fairer skined look I grew up with. > > I don`t know why my experience is so different from yours - but I certainly am not drawn to what I was exposed to early in life. > > Of course, I shoud say that I still find many many white women very attractive and most people I’ve dated have been white because they’re more prevalent in my life. This, mostly. My ex- is from India, last SO was Iranian, and about half the women I’ve dated were Hispanic. I’ve never dated a black woman but that’s due in part to the fact that I think some are looking for black men, might not consider dating a white guy. I’ve certainly met some whom I’d like to date. My nephew—45 years old—has been married to two black women. He said that if a black guy dates a white woman, that’s a real feather in his cap in the black community. But if a black woman dates a white guy she takes grief for it, like she’s not attractive enough to get a black guy. As I grow older I’m still attracted to the exotic, but I’ve also learned firsthand that differences in background can create extra problems in relationships. My attraction level for an exotic might be on a par with what I feel for a white woman, but I won’t pursue the exotic unless I’m really attracted. I might meet a pretty black woman and maybe she’ll reject me because I don’t look “black” enough. And I just expect to be shot down more, i.e. _she_ may not be willing to take flak for interracial dating. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/122 "2009-01-28T13:50:35Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Well all the tribal mutilations are a turn off, but she’s quite beautiful IMO. That’s odd. I find the tribal scaring amplify her beauty myself - and I’m not really into body mods either. I’m quite fond of [Skin](http://www.virginmedia.com/images/skin-gal-300x300.jpg) (former Skunk Anansie singer) although she can look [quite](http://www.corbijn.co.uk/images/photo_colourim_skin.jpg) [scary](http://dropd.com/issue/4/SkunkAnansie/skunk3.gif) sometimes 🙂 ETA : [QUOTE=clairobscur] Also, the “blacker” the better for me when it comes to black women. Weirdly enough, a black woman will become less attractive to me for having a paler skin, while the exact same skin tone I’ll find perfect in, say, a middle eastern woman. [/QUOTE] That’s true for me as well, for some reason. I probably won’t do a spit-take for a Halle Berry lookalike, but a really, really dark skin, like as-black-as-Dick-Cheney’s-soul black with the exact same features I’ll find achingly beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/123 "2009-01-28T14:12:44Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Several of the white men in this thread have said basically the same thing – that while some black women are beautiful, they are not personally attracted to these women. I take this to mean that it isn’t some flaw in black women’s looks that’s the issue, but rather that a lot of white men are for some non-looks related reason not interested in black women. I disagree. I just stated that I generally find black women less attractive, but it’s entirely look related. It’s the same as white women I find objectively beautiful but subjectively not that attractive, like the “IMHO hot babes” I also mentioned. I assume here that it’s a common experience for men to find women beautiful but not attractive, but then again maybe not. You (and another poster) listed several possible alternative explanations. Racism (I’m of course going to deny being racist), other people’s opinion (I don’t think I’m close to anybody who would think less of me for being with a black woman), social class and wealth/income (I couldn’t care less for social class, and wealth/income is probably the last thing I would consider). The only thing that would make sense for me is cultural differences. But it still falls flat, like actually all the other explanations, simply because when I check up a random woman at the local cafe, I’m not wondering “hmm…how would it be if I dated/married her? What problems could arise?”. I generally stop at the much more basic : “Hot or not?”. And my general opinion about the relative beauty and/or attractiveness of black women is essentially based on those “check up of random women at the local cafe”. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/124 "2009-01-28T14:16:26Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I’m quite fond of [Skin](http://www.virginmedia.com/images/skin-gal-300x300.jpg) (former Skunk Anansie singer) although she can look [quite](http://www.corbijn.co.uk/images/photo_colourim_skin.jpg) [scary](http://dropd.com/issue/4/SkunkAnansie/skunk3.gif) sometimes 🙂 Huh. I find her scary even on the first picture!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/125 "2009-01-28T14:49:04Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I’m also ashamed because I know it has little to do with facial features. The other day I saw a woman with a fantastic body walk by, but as soon as I noticed she had dark skin, I lost interest. I have a problem ☹ Why should it be a problem? There are plenty of men who pay more attention to the face than to the body. Somehow, it should be shameful not to like a facial feature, but not shameful not to like, say, an ass? I’m not attracted to overweight women. But other than that, the face takes by far precedence over all other considerations for me. I probably wouldn’t remember anything about a woman I found attractive apart from her face. I probably wouldn’t have paid the slightest attention to some elements that a number of men notice a lot, like her legs or her size(\*). Why on earth should I feel ashamed? (\*) I’m strikingly oblivious of size, except when a woman is taller than me. I’ve known for many years, and met on a regular basis, a woman that I happened to find attractive, and it’s only when she one day mentioned her size (1m47, that’s apparently 4’8") that I noticed she was short. Previously, I would have been completely unable to tell how tall she was if you had asked me without having her in front of me. For all I knew, she could have been 1m70 (5’6"). I just don’t notice that. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/126 "2009-01-28T17:31:50Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > We’ve gone this far and nobody has mentioned the HUGE role that economics and status play into what we consider “beautiful.” That’s about par for the course. It’s one of those subjects one doesn’t bring up in polite society (not that the SDMB is anywhere near “polite society”). I think because we’re such a status- and materially-motivated culture, we’re trained not even to recognize it. Bringing it up is sort of like being invited to a sumptuous dinner party and mentioning all the hormones they put in the meat. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/127 "2009-01-28T19:15:49Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Hmmm…I followed your links, and almost all of these women (with one exception : Lauryn Hill) look white. Particularly striking for the two first ones. So, what you’re saying by picking these examples is that “black women” who look like white women are as attractive as white women. No, I was just saying they’re attractive. Exactly how black they looked didn’t enter into it. The OP was apparently referring to his friend not being attracted to black women regardless of their degree of “blackness.” ---
**Author:** ![galvatron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@galvatron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galvatron)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/128 "2009-01-28T19:40:03Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Living here in the DC Metro area, I am reminded every single day, often several times, that beautiful, attractive black women abound. If they are underappreciated, it’s a crying shame. I agree with this. I am a mid 40’s white male raised in the Northeast. All my girlfriends growing up as well as my wife have been the blonde hair blue eyes type. I always thought that I didn’t find black women attractive also. About 7 years ago I started traveling to Washington DC pretty regularly for business. Each time I visit I am amazed at all the beautiful black women I see. I suspect for me it was just a matter of living in a place that had few black women & did not notice until I found myself in a place where there a lots of black women. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/129 "2009-01-29T01:43:32Z")
Okay. [Here](http://www.hiphopvideomodels.net/lanisha_cole.html) is a true beauty and a pure knockout. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/130 "2009-01-29T03:26:43Z")
What a crazy question! Don’t tell my wife I’m saying this…You can put the most beautiful white woman next to the most beautiful black woman, and the black woman will be hotter every time. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/131 "2009-01-29T03:43:27Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Okay. [Here](http://www.hiphopvideomodels.net/lanisha_cole.html) is a true beauty and a pure knockout. Wow. She has that beautiful, deep coppery skin. Full lips. Deep brown eyes. Mmm. Just…mmm. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/132 "2009-01-29T04:54:07Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Probably because she’s dead now. And that would be why Pam Grier looked like a dog in _Mars Attacks._ :rolleyes: Er, not that she’s DEAD. See “The L Word.” She’s growing into a GILF (Grandma, etc). ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Sweet\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/133 "2009-01-29T14:44:16Z")
To the OP: I think what I take issue with the most out of your post is that you’re making some sort of distinction between who is “beautiful” and who is “pretty” when this stuff truly is subjective. I would have no problem describing Beyoncé or Gabrielle Union as beautiful, whereas you might say that you only find them “pretty.” So which one of us would be right? I can’t say. As to the question in the title, I think the answer is no. Generally people are attracted to members of their own race—probably some Freudian bullshit about secretly wanting to bed your parents, or something. I think it’s likely that you and your friend are generally less attracted to black women than you are to white women, and there’s nothing wrong with that, really. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/134 "2009-01-29T14:47:13Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Okay. [Here](http://www.hiphopvideomodels.net/lanisha_cole.html) is a true beauty and a pure knockout. I’m sure if she was giving me a lapdance I’d have a hard-on, but I wouldn’t fantasize about her from her pics. She’s beautiful, yes, just does nothing for me beyond aesthetics. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/135 "2009-01-29T16:08:40Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > I’m sure if she was giving me a lapdance I’d have a hard-on, but I wouldn’t fantasize about her from her pics. She’s beautiful, yes, just does nothing for me beyond aesthetics. Um, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you’re gay. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/136 "2009-01-29T16:12:17Z")
She is a total biscuit…even if she is a bit skinny for my taste. 😉 -XT ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/137 "2009-01-29T16:13:23Z")
**Laudenum** , does your mate drive a taxi by any chance? As to your question, no. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/138 "2009-01-29T16:45:41Z")
Responding to the OP, haven’t read the thread. I am of the opinion that among relatively pure ethnic groups, the largest number of beautiful people within a single group are either Somali or Ethiopian. (I decided this back in the 80’s when the Ethiopains were suffering famine… I couldn’t get over how gorgeous all the dying people were…) I am of the opinion that the least attractive overall are Inuit. So, to answer your question more directly: no. And I think you and your friends’ assessment of the beauty possessed by Halle and Beyonce is very wrong. And finally, I think the largest number of beautiful people will be found among the people of mixed race, even if the “mix” is merely mixing varieties of whites, like Irish and Russian, or German and Italian. The more homogenous the genes, the less attractive the people, generally. Especially white people. Sincerely, Stoid White Woman: 50% Irish (Cassidys breeding with other Cassidys!) 50% classic American mutt, the only known component being Cherokee, roughly 5%. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/139 "2009-01-29T16:58:29Z")
[QUOTE=Laudenum] I was in a pub with two friends for several hours a week ago, and one of them said that he didn’t find black women attractive. I was pretty surprised and questioned him on it, and the more he talked, the more I realised that he was kind of right. I put several famous black women, generally considered beautiful, to him, such as Beyonce, and the girl from Battlestar Galactica (Dee), and he rejected them, saying that both were at best pretty. And, when I thought about it, I agreed with him. In the end we ended up with a challenge - I have to find a black woman who he finds attractive - so far I have nothing. I thought of Leona Lewis, but again she’s not that great. I can name numerous black women with great t and a, and many who are just damn sexy, but none that are beautiful. [/QUOTE] I think first you need to define what you mean by “beautiful”, vs “pretty”, “attractive”, and “damn sexy”. Because those can be synonyms. Next, and most importantly, I think you need to ask yourself and probably your friend what it is about black women vs white women that keeps them from being “beautiful”. Is it their skin color, the shape of their lips and noses, etc? I think you will find if you really consider it the reason you don’t rate black women beautiful is that their common features don’t match what you find attractive. If that is the case, then you probably won’t be able to find a black woman that he finds attractive or “beautiful”, because the features that make them black are exclusionary criteria. And there’s nothing wrong with that, at a personal level. However, the assertion that other people, including people of different ethnicities, do not find them beautiful is naive, parochial, and a bit insulting. As far as explaining why black men date white women, and more black men seem to date white women than black women seem to date white men, etc, there are other social factors in play that people have discussed. [QUOTE=levdrakon] As a gay guy, black women are total hot. [/quote] Somehow, as a straight man, knowing that gay men finds them attractive makes it sound like I should like them _less_. 😉 > [@](#): > > You straight people and black guys, well… you’re fucked. Hopefully not by gay men! 😉 [QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] Michelle Obama is a very beautiful black women, and Sasha and Malia Obama are going to grow up to be gorgeous women too. The first lady is tall and statuesque, and has very striking facial features. [/QUOTE] Amusingly, the first time I heard the word “striking” used as a descriptor for attractiveness, it was being applied to a picture of a woman whom I felt looked kinda blah. I decided that “striking” meant “looking at her is like getting struck in the face”. YMMV. As far as the First Lady, she has narrow set eyes, high wide cheekbones, her lower lip protrudes, and her face is slightly unsymmetrical. Those are objective descriptors. Judgements about whether she is attractive or not are in the eye of the beholder. Our President finds her beautiful, and that is his perogative. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163/140 "2009-01-29T17:01:17Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Um, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you’re gay. :eek: Too much makeup, maybe. Or maybe I just would go wild for [her](http://style.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/jessica_alba.jpg) but not for your ideal girl. I know that there are some people on this board who will name Helen Mirren as the hottest woman EVER; especially if the thread asks for women over 40. I find Helen Mirren to be unattractive, even in her younger years. Different strokes, different folks, and all that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-black-women-generally-less-attractive-then-white-women/483163.md?page=8)