It’s a well known fact that gay white guys generally prefer to date other gay white guys. Gay Asians know it all too well, but we’re mostly complaining in our own echo chamber while white guys party on.
But there’s another form of subtle racism that we rarely talk about – gay Asians discriminate against themselves in favor of whites.
I’ve seen many an Asian stricken by potato fever, but I wanted more than just anecdotal evidence. So I dug around for some data, turning to Jack’d, one of the most popular gay mobile dating apps. After going through 200 profiles, I was shocked at what I found.
Jack’d is a treasure trove of data
Ok, so where is this Jack’d data? As an unpaid user, you only see other guy’s reply rates, however if you cough up the dough for a Pro subscription, you get access to statistics showing which age groups, scenes (twinks, bears, etc.) and races another user is interested in. There are two features in Jack’d that are used to tabulate a user’s racial preference: Match and Favorite.
For Match, Jack’d shows you random profiles of people in your city and you either click Interested, Not Interested or Skip. The Favorite button bookmarks guys you like while you’re browsing. When you Favorite a guy, he’ll be saved in your Favorites folder and he’ll get notified of it.
Methodology
I randomly picked 100 Asian guys and 100 white guys who were last online in San Francisco.
San Francisco, the gayest city in the US, was a natural choice for this study. The city is 34.4% Asian and 41.6% non-Hispanic white. Because both races are roughly equally represented in the city, one can study their preferences for each other without having to account for Asians being a small minority, which they are in most of the US.
To ensure a reliable sample, every profile needed to have a face picture and a plausible age (i.e. not 99). They also had to have an interest in at least two different age groups and two different scenes in order to select for people who’ve used the Match and Favorite features extensively. I wanted to target only San Francisco residents so I excluded anyone whose profile said they were visiting.
Diversity of Jack’d Users
I picked a random point in central San Francisco and counted all Jack’d users within a one mile radius. This one mile radius covers a diverse array of neighborhoods in the city, with bits of the Mission, the Castro, the Haight, SoMa and the Tenderloin.
You might be wondering how well Jack’d users represent the whole rainbow of races out there. It turns out that Jack’d users in central San Francisco form quite a colorful rainbow.
One might say that Asians are over-represented on Jack’d, which isn’t surprising given Jack’d’s reputation as an Asian-heavy app. If anything, the over-representation of Asians is a good thing because if we observe a bias against Asians, it can’t be attributed to their low numbers.
Determining Racial Preference
For each of the 100 Asian and 100 white guys I studied, I recorded their age, reply rate and the ethnicity distribution of guys they’re interested in.
For example, we can see in the following example that 92% of the guys Freddie’s interested in are Asian, 5% are Pacific Islanders, and the remaining 3% are split between Middle Eastern, Mixed and Other. He’s never Favorited a white, Latino or black profile.
After recording the ethnicity preferences of 100 Asian and 100 white profiles, I analyzed the data to see if I could find any obvious patterns. It didn’t take long…
Asians and Whites both avoid Asians
It turns out that both white and Asian men are somewhat allergic to Asians.
Not many rice eaters
There’s a strong bias against Asians. A significant proportion of white guys (40%) and Asians (29%) are never interested in Asians. That jives with OkCupid’s data showing that 43% of gay whites preferred to date their own race.
Plenty of potato love
Whites don’t have many haters. The vast majority of white and Asian guys are interested in white guys to at least some degree. I’ve heard many white men complain about sticky Asians, but the fact is that 93% of Asians are open to dating a white guy.
Whites prefer whites, but Asians prefer whites even more
A person prefers a race if 51% of the guys that person is interested in are of that race.
Asians have a stronger preference for white guys than white guys have for each other
The majority of gay Asians, 57%, prefer to date white guys. By contrast, only 45% of white guys prefer to date other whites. Also remember that 40.1% of users are Asian and 28.2% whites. The supply and demand dynamics are incredibly unbalanced and quite frankly sad. Why do Asians have such a gravitation towards potatoes?
Quantifying Rice Queens and Potato Queens
Let’s raise the bar even higher and see what happens when we try and pick out the rice queens and potato queens. A rice/potato queen is someone who prefers Asian/white 70% of the time or more.
Can you say potato addiction?
41% of gay Asians are potato queens. Gay Asians really, really love white guys. Almost half of gay Asians love white guys to the point where it’s an obsession. Compare this to only 18% of gay white men are rice queens. This is great news if you’re a white guy who eats rice.
Rice queens have the upper hand
A couple weeks ago I argued that the Gaysian dating world is stacked in favor of rice queens. Now we have the numbers to back that up. For every rice queen, there are 2.3 potato queens. White guys have their pick, but Asians have to settle for whatever they can get.
The only way all those gay Asians will settle with white men is to lower their standards and date older and/or less attractive white men. There’s no other way all those gay Asians’ desires can be accommodated.
Echoes of the Asian vs. White Grindr Experiment
I’ve put all the numbers we’ve seen so far onto one chart.
Notice that Asians and whites both prefer white guys by a substantial margin: the white guy is always more desirable than the Asian by a factor of 1.5-2x.
If you remember my Asian vs. White Grindr Experiment from a while back, you’ll recall that a hot white guy can expect 1.5-2x as many Grindr messages as a similarly endowed Asian. That’s almost identical to the margin by which Jack’d users prefer whites over Asians.
Asians are racist too
We often think of racism and discrimination as something whites are guilty of. But it turns out Asians are equally guilty of discriminating against themselves. You might write off the racism of whites as simply a preference for dating people who look like themselves, but how do you explain the preferences of gay Asians?
At least in the minds of gay Asians, white men are the gold standard of beauty and desirability. Maybe it’s an unavoidable consequence of growing up in American culture, where seeing almost nothing but whites on movie screens and fashion runways has indoctrinated us to the idea that only whites are attractive.
You might think that gay Asians, having grown up with the dual stigma of being both a racial and sexual minority, would be more open-minded than your average person. Some certainly seem to think they are:
Oops. I guess he meant to say he’s open-minded unless you’re Asian. 😉
I once said that gay Asians have no realistic chance of dating a hot white guy their own age. It turns out they might have the same struggles finding a hot Asian their own age too.
OMG I’m so glad i’m BritishEuropean
Sorry, but when does sexual preference reside to racism? Why is that the categorical link here? “Race A won’t date race B; hence he is racist.”
Do you realise the lunacy in that statement? There are so many factors that alter the sexual preference of a human, principally psychological, and caused by a mixture of both genotypical and phenotypical effects. Consider this for example, boy 1 is race A, and he grows among other boys of race A. His sexual experiences are thus of those with race A. Hence all his pleasurable experiences his brain has ‘taught’ him are derived from a certain man, be it muscly, small, hairy, shaved, White or Asian. It’s not his fault that subconsciously his brain tells him what is good, what is fun, and what he likes. He’s not racist, he just has a preference.
Would you call someone ‘foodist’ for preferring chips with a meal over rice? Potato and rice preference does not make one racist (or ‘foodist’). Excuse the pun.
Note; I am perhaps an ‘outlier’, who is White and dates Asians. Just asians. I’m not racist, I just have a preference. Christ…
Look at the articles on this site. Most of them are hurting Asian gays. The author is just jealous since Asian gays are so popular now. Sorry!
This is completely BULLCRAP. I am an asian who lived in Asia for 10 years and Europe for 11 years. I found I was more attracted to Whites when I was settled in Europe. However when I start to settle in Asia, I begin to like asians much more the whites! Discrimination against your own race has nothing to do with it.
This experiment sucked! There was no control and there were very few comparisons.
How old is the white guy?
How old is the asian?
The attractiveness of both?
Their personalities?
Judging by the Asians’ profile 65% is too low.
Im a gay asian guy here. I’m into all races of guys black asian indian latin white etc.. I live in Vancouver Canada though and asians do go for other asians here and i have attracted all colours of the rainbow before. I think its a bit better up here but maybe more hidden i never really noticed. As long as the guy is nice race is irrelevant to me.
White on Rice. Inextricably bound, like the coldness and hardness of ice.
Research and and contrived results will not mitigate ANGER; hell hath no fury like a homo scorned.
Our Father who art in heaven, halo be thy name, thy kingdom come thy will be done, one earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.
Beware of the hate that you spew from your mouth.
Screw this! Just go out in the real world and find someone you like. Who cares what their ethnicity is. Who wrote this article? A twink?!
What? I take it English is not your first language which is fine, but if I may suggest, go to Google Translate and type in what you are trying to say because what you wrote makes no sense at all.
Just due to the ‘target’ market of this ‘research’, it is clearly obvious that Asians are just as racist. Are ANY Asians attracted to black or Latin men? Why are they ONLY attracted to white men? Why not even OTHER Asian men? Just based on THAT alone, I do not feel sorry for you that white dudes are not attracted to you. You’re just as bad in my book. That is a rather sad state to be in if you ask me. It seems that there is no self pride in Asian culture. They are all about obtaining a ‘white god’ like he is going to save the day or that his ‘whiteness’ is going to rub off on you! LOL! Not the case my friend, not the case. You will still get the same prejudice treatment that you have received in the past when out in social settings. Until ‘western culture’ changes, this crap will always be prevalent. Sooooo, the next time you are around your ‘white’ friends thinking you ‘belong’ and you join in on stupid comments in hushed tones when a black or latin guy walks by about ‘omg you guys, could you ever date a black/latin guy? I would NEVER date a black/latin guy’, well just remember my friend, when YOU are not around, trust me those SAME FRIENDS are saying ‘omg, Skyler, I would NEVER date an Asian guy!…But Chang is cool…..but I feel sorry for him because he’s ONLY into white guys but he NEVER finds one who is into hiiiiim!’ Just an observation.
Spot on!
…”when a black guy or Latino walks by”…..Believe me. No Latino guy is interested in dating an Asian guy!
I think some Inquiry / interrogation should be made into why Asian men find White men / whiteness so Desirable. What are the psychic and social ramifications of this Desire. This phenomenon also operates Asian women (in gendered ways) who seem to swoon over White males while scorning men of their own race. To me, as an racial and cultural outsider, this desire for Whiteness appears to be a kind of ‘sickness”, a Pathology. Is it the Freedom, the mobility, the economic largesse that White males have that make them so desirable to Men of Colour. Is it that Asian men want to symbolically acquire some of this social and psychic Privilege…? And what are the psychic and social Costs to the Asian man as he distances himself from and Negates anything of Value within his cultural community…?
this is a fascinating Blog…Just wish the Blog Master would engage me or tell us what he intends to do with all these findings…? is this Raw Material for a Book…?
I’m white but I like white, Latino and Asian guys… and Indian guys. I never realized that this is actually considered “open minded” until I went onto dating sites, seeing many white guys with a “whites only” mentality. I mean, I guess it’s just their preference but you only live once though… seems rather closed minded to not even give an Asian guy a chance who may be 10 times more caring than any partner you ever had. But I think a lot of white guys just care about sex and not enough really care about real relationships… which sucks.
But I think it’s just best being open to more possibilities and that would mean not being so freaking secluded in your own little social bubble of same race people.
Oh well, all the Asians need to learn how to have some pride, how to love themselves more, and how to stop sucking up to whites.
Thanks for your article. I found it very interesting as well as the previous ones. The first one I read was that of “5 reasons why…” suggested by a friend of mine, a Chinese Italian gay guy. Yours is not just a blog: you produce studies too. As a hookup app user, I realized that there was a very high racial bias against Asians amongst White Italian users and I started to investigate it. I am actually trying to work on this issue for a conference and I was looking for articles in Google: and it brought again to meet your website. I also found an interesting study by Damien W. Riggs about the Australian context. Keep in touch, then. Massimo
The research title should include the area of study since the same cannot be said about asians in other cities…
“The Jack’d Racism Study: SAN FRANCISCO Asians are as Racist as SAN FRANISCO Whites”
Please don’t forget that this sample is taken in San Francisco which a lot of gay Asians flocked their wings to go there to find their caucasion partners. The numbers will be reversed in Asian. The majorty of gay Asian want to date their own race. This small sample cannot represent the global community. It only represents a fraction of what gay Asians want.
Yeah, the first major issue with this sampling is precisely because it was done in SF. This phenomenon of Asians having a strong predilection for Whites is pervasive in the Bay Area. This is not true in LA / OC where many Asians date other Asians, oftentimes exclusively. I lived in the Bay Area for a few years while attending UC Berkeley, and it always felt like living in a parallel universe. It’s just a bizarre place where every one pays so much lip service about social justice and being open-minded, and yet the wealth distribution is startling unequal, and where Asians don’t even want to date other Asians. Glad I got out of there. Nice to visit and party there every now and then, but not to live.
That seems really amazing that Asian guys in LA/OC date each other! I wonder how two cities in the same state can be so different. I grew up in MN and to be honest I’ve always been physically attracted to white men, while being well aware that the majority didn’t return that interest and that many Asian guys here wanted them as well. I went to Korea to teach English and fell for the first Asian guy in my life at the age of 23. It’s hard to explain if you haven’t been in my shoes, but that experience was so liberating and i felt a few of the chains I had of self loathing unshackled. Although this study makes me a bit sad, I’m glad to hear that it’s not completely universal.
I have to agree, I think this fellows sampling error favored Potatoe Queen Asians. Where I live anecdotally speaking of course, I see many more Gaysians entering into Asian exclusive relationships.
These stats are faulty and highly suspect, because anyone who knows anything about the gay dating scene in SF knows that it is HIGLY skewed towards Asians who actively and exclusively seek out White guys. It’s not just gay Asian guys, it’s straight Asian girls as well. SF is notorious for Asians who exclusively seek out White partners. If you did this in Los Angeles you’d find that the majority of Asian guys, especially younger gay Asians, date other Asians in very high numbers. This has been a dramatic change that I’ve observed in the last 10 years.
No new posts?
I have been a Italian gay male all of my life.When i typed in the search bar Gay Asians Wanted and seen all of the hate towards asians i was very angry.I don’t know what all the white guys problems are dealing with a gay asian guy.I myself DO NOT EVER WANT A WHITE GAY MAN FOR MY LOVER, i have always dated and had sex with foreign men because they are hotter in bed over a white guy. I like asians ALOT!! I live in Tampa Florida and asians are very hard to find and i have never had an asian but they always turned me on when i was watching gay asian porno videos. White guys are SLUTS/WHORES and don’t know how to be faithful towards their mate. White guys have always tried to get into as many mens pants and tried them out in bed before their lives end and always will. They can’t be trusted. Foreign men are loyal to their lover. Foreign men have always satisfied me sexually. They get me superhard.They turn me on alot. Most foreign men are hung way over white guys who some have no dicks at all and never shows any bulge in their pants.I don’t know why the world is surrogated it is nobodies fault for being the color/race they are.God made us all this way so why does white guys HATE SO MUCH???? White guys don’t use their brains for anything. They all had bad parents for bringing their children/boys up to HATE another boy. That is why there are bullies around. White guys don’t give themselves a chance to get to know another human being for what they have in their heart and brains,they would prefer to HATE another guy for something like color of skin and race that they had no choice of being born that way.There is way to much prejudice in this world and again it all comes from parents and what they teach their children about the world.
The amount of irony in this post makes my head spin.
I love you Rico! You are the reason why Asian gays still like white guys!
I wonder if Angeryhomosexual is a social scientist…..he seems rigorous in his first hand research.
yeah it’s so true. Asians dont like Asians more than white people who dont like Asians. Trying figuring that out! It was awful when I was a sticky rice. There was so much hate and issues in it. After awhile i started avoiding all GAMs and stop going clubs and my life has been amazing.
I’m just gonna say it. I’m a gaysian born and raised here and my dating/sexual history has been over 90% Caucasian. I’ve definitely come across hot asian guys along the way but I think the white beauty standard has been tattooed into my psyche. If I hooked up with an asian guy it would be considered as unusual as a white guy hooking up with one. It’s a reflection of American gay culture and less about self esteem. I visited Seoul recently and was shocked to see gaysians drawn to other gaysians and wished I could experience that all the time in NYC. I felt like a fucking supermodel!
You’ve just been whitewashed by american media and their purported standard of beauty to the point that you are ashamed of your own heritage and looks. Plain and simple. You need to somehow stop assessing a persons “value” based on their race/physical appearance.
That sounds kinda sad. What happens when you get older and no longer in demand by white guys who seek out younger asian guys?
I’ve been with my Asian partner for 26 years. He’s old and fat and has wrinkles and is dumpy and crotchety and makes bad financial decisions and I love him dearly. I do his laundry, and cook for him, and fix his car and take care of his dogs. He is my life. You need to stop emphasizing youth and beauty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Asian gays usually look much younger than white guys at the same age. Sorry, we don’t worry too much about youth as you do
George I’m so curious to hear about your experience. I’m Korean American and I worked in Seoul for 3 yrs as an esl teacher. I didn’t get out much Bc I figured all the Korean boys would be fighting each other (and me) to the death over a white guy.
Some white people see Asians as a threat for their intelligence and success. they r not worried about other races. And usually asian people’s quiet traits make it easier for targets of bullying and discriminating. But of course not all white people r the same. Good and bad.
Total bs stereotype what about the asian people on welfare, working in the laundry stores.in the gangs. Most of the asian countries r in 3rd worlds. Being smart has nothing to do with races. What about white ppl see every race as a threat. It’s just that they r so good at pretending now days
In the USA today Asians on average make about $12,000 more per year than their white counterparts. The model minority Asian stereotype is not total BS. There is more than a grain of truth in it.
See? You are the one of the evidences!!! Do some research and read some books before you even open your mouth!