Thread by @ericabuddington

Woke up to #BlackTwitter flipping out over @IssaRae’s excerpt. Here’s where she got that from...@christianrudder, co-founder of @okcupid wrote about how race affects the messages you get on one of the largest dating platforms in the world.

OkCupid is an actual data set. They, alongside other dating sites, have been tracking metrics. And those are damn good metrics with 4 million + users. You put what race you identify and then they track your interests. theblog.okcupid.com/how-your-race-…

In his book, he didn’t just use @okcupid’s data set. He uses other platforms as well. If you didn’t know 40% of Americans use online dating. Know how we always read the report that says “a new study finds.” Well this ain’t that. Here’s some hard data:

Look at the data for black women. It looks like a Malcolm X quote.

“The most disrespected woman in America, is the black woman. The most un-protected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the black woman.”

Here’s some more information that’ll be super difficult to swallow:

These are response rates to women that send the first message.

*tilts glasses* Idk baby. That looks like preference to me. That looks like a #BlackTwitter worthy conversation. Now, do I subscribe to the ideology that Asian men are the ONLY men for me? Nah. I have a brotha that loves and cherishes me. Does #IssaRae? Have you seen her work?

#IssaRae is all about spectrum. From White Jay to @The_Bae_Expert (romantic interests in ABG) to polyamory (see Molly’s latest dig), to the #LawrenceHive, to Daniel, to the weird foray with homie downstairs, to mess, to struggle, to imagining.

SATIRE:

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Black women and our neglect, in and outside of dating, is a hell of a topical issue.

This isn’t new. It was buzzing in:

2015: vice.com/en_us/article/…

2016: essence.com/2016/04/16/dai…

2017: google.com/amp/s/www.inve…

Oh and look!

2018: npr.org/2018/01/09/575…

Also—that’s why the wave of black/differentiated dating apps were necessary. The data above is practically a pitch deck.

See: @meld_app @soulswipeapp @BlackPeopleMeet

Also—this wave isn’t new. It’s why @blackplanet became the wave in the early millennium. 🤗

Here are two more charts that folks seemed to be zooming in on:

Whoa! That’s awesome! Look at that match rate! Here’s the thing though...matching is only the start. Replying and initiating conversation is the next step. See above for how that next step works out.

Black men are in the red too, when it comes to replies! But whoa! Look who responds to them more often—black women and Native American women. Honestly, both reply charts show two ships passing each other at 🌊.

🚢 🙋🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♂️

There’s also some really great/mind-blowing age charts in the “Dataclysm” book. I love the conversation that’s happening. Just wanted to provide context on where that passage came from. Check my timeline for some Black love stats. Let’s keep it going. 🤓

Again—not an endorsement...just context on the where the idea might’ve come from.