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The Real 'Stuff White People Like'

Here's an interesting and funny look at 526,000 OkCupid users, divided into groups by race and gender and all the the things each groups says it likes or is interested in. While it is far from being definitive, the groupings give a glimpse of what makes each culture unique. According to the results, white men like nothing better than Tom Clancy, Van Halen, and golfing.

41 of 286 comments (clear)

  1. Nascar??? by bobstreo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I looked at the lists I'm sure all involved will be offended.

  2. The female responses . . . by SlappyBastard · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've had a long-standing belief that the heavy preference for outdoorsy crap in women's profiles is their way of engineering the males they receive responses from. The basic idea is to frame yourself in an athletic manner, thereby driving off the lazy, the fat and the unambitious. In practice, I'd expect this to torpedo a lot video gamers, guys who live at home, geeks and low wage earners. In essence, it's a type of razor wire that kills off all the guys no woman wants to talk to.

    --
    I scream. You scream. I assume that means we're both acquainted with the problem. We proceed.
    1. Re:The female responses . . . by Nursie · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well, it's probably also aspirational.

      Who wouldn't like to get out side more and do outdoorsy things all the time?

      But when it comes down to it, most of us can't be bothered. The women probably want someone to help them achieve that.

    2. Re:The female responses . . . by rubies · · Score: 4, Interesting

      More that our external representations of ourselves rarely match the actual. Look at the crazy pictures people put on Facebook for their profiles - 40 year olds with some photo from their mid-twenties before they got fat. Listing a bunch of interests you rarely participate in (unless bumping into your dusty huffy n the garage counts as cycling).

    3. Re:The female responses . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."

      Oscar Wilde

    4. Re:The female responses . . . by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

      outdoorsy crap in women's profiles is their way of engineering the males they receive responses from. The basic idea is to frame yourself in an athletic manner, thereby driving off the lazy, the fat and the unambitious. In practice, I'd expect this to torpedo a lot video gamers, guys who live at home, geeks

      Well, I play Tetris while water-skiing. I showed them!

    5. Re:The female responses . . . by Steauengeglase · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'll have to agree with that one. Some of my outdoorsey friends have had problems with women using that as a filter and then treating them like fixer-uppers. Granted they were also to blame. If she says that she enjoys fishing and camping, don't say yes when she asks you about fine dining and shopping. Just be honest.

    6. Re:The female responses . . . by uvajed_ekil · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Hmm, I think the outdoorsy shtick relates more to young women in rural/outlying areas. They may not really like riding ATVs, camping, fishing, and hiking, but they like guys who listen to songs about tractors and like ATVs and fishing. It could be more about who they are trying to attract than who they wish to exclude. I live on the edge of civilization, where all macho guys to the South and East wear cowboy hats (when they go to the country music dancing bar), claim to hunt and fish (though most of them have done it very few times), and espouse the virtues of pickup trucks (while they drive Chevy Cavaliers and old-ass Mercury Sables). In rural and semi-rural populations, this is somewhat the norm. If you adjusted your data to examine trends only in urban and inner-ring suburban areas, you'd see a lot less outdoorsy crap in women's profiles, with more mentions of wine, reading, baseball games, and walking in parks.

      --
      This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
    7. Re:The female responses . . . by rubies · · Score: 2, Funny

      "This hot dog is wild!"

      Oscar Meyer

    8. Re:The female responses . . . by antifoidulus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No, executives make all the money while doing nothing useful(they spend more time trying to figure out how to enrich themselves than they do the company). Case in point, over the past 10 years executive pay has skyrocketed in the US while stocks are, at best, stagnant. This is why I always laugh whenever the Republicans complain about taxing the richest 10% is placing an unfair "burden" on the most "productive" people. Beyond a certain point the relationship between salary and productivity is tenacious, at best. Case in point, pretty much every single major bank in the US.

    9. Re:The female responses . . . by DavidD_CA · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And in a twisted way, this is natural selection at work.

      --
      -David
    10. Re:The female responses . . . by daveime · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Fuck off, Elmo"

      Oscar the Grouch

    11. Re:The female responses . . . by ptbarnett · · Score: 2, Informative

      The cutoff for the top 10% of income is $110,000.

      The minimum income of taxpayers in the top 10% in 2007 was $102,900, for single-person households.

      http://cbo.gov/publications/collections/tax/2010/all_tables.pdf

      It's the last table on page 9.

      Deriving the minimum income for families requires a bit of calculation. The CBO adjusts household income by the square root of the number of people in the household. So, the minimum income of a two-person household in the top 10% in 2007 was $102,900 * 1.414 = $145,500.

      Hopefully, Slashdot readers will be able to calculate the minimum income for other family sizes. The CBO's methodology is described in more detail on the last page of the document linked above.

    12. Re:The female responses . . . by spiffmastercow · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Poor couple only making $140k/year.. I make $63k, supporting a child and a wife with $60k in student loan debt that we'll likely never be able to pay off. And I'm a software engineer (and a rather good one). Not sure why I should feel sorry for your hypothetical couple.

    13. Re:The female responses . . . by spiffmastercow · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Oh wow, silly me, implying that two married people who make $80k per year should pay as much in taxes as two people single people who make $80k per year!

      If the US wasn't filled with people who are so obsessed with acquiring wealth at all costs, maybe we wouldn't have so much crime, violence, stupidity, etc. Guess what? YOU are responsible for raising your child. If you do poorly in that regard, YOU have failed your kid. And pawning them off on a day care at 3 months old until they start first grade, just because you want to drive a Cadillac instead of a Civic, is failure (no offense to those who have to do this, only to those that choose to do this). But if your life revolves around work and money (as it apparently does), then DON'T HAVE KIDS.

      Moreover, the point here is that we're discussing marriage in an economic contract sense. It's like incorporating. My family, as a unit, are considered an individual for tax purposes. A married dual income couple are considered one individual with a very large income. You're essentially arguing that a person who lives alone and makes $70k per year (1/2 income, 1/2 expenses, 1/2 taxes) is being taxed to death, and that's just not the case. The tax code is more complicated than this, and the married dual income couple actually comes out far ahead of two single people, but that only serves to reinforce that there's no reason to feel sorry for them.

  3. Re:white men? by Wrexs0ul · · Score: 4, Funny

    How dare you think that as a Canadian I don't like Van Halen!

    Now, where'd I put that mullet...

    --
    --- Need web hosting?
  4. Anybody for a small wager? by hyades1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I bet if the site allowed you to keep part of your profile private, with access reserved only for your buddies, a certain multi-ethnic theme would emerge. A predilection for BJ's would cross all cultural barriers and leap to number one on the list of things most guys like.

    High fives all 'round. Woot, woot!

    --
    I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
  5. as a white person... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I hope we make contact with aliens soon so we can stop worrying about the color of the humans and start worrying about humans in general.

  6. Re:white men? by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's not fair. It's hard to tell Canadians from really boring white people.

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  7. Assumed homogeneity by devleopard · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Stereotyping is never good, but it has a higher degree of confidence based on the divergence of individual characteristics, as well as population. (For example, you say "all 17 year old black males like rap music", but you're actually looking at more than one characteristic - there typically is less divergence among economic status, geographic distance from peers, etc.. to put it bluntly, they tend to be poor and live close together)

    Among white males, this tends to be less true wider array of economic functioning (higher % of upper middle class), geographic distribution (with few exceptions, white males can *socially* live wherever they want, if they can afford it), etc. So there's no *typical* white male.

    --
    The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit.
  8. Re:Science != Statistics by iammani · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Actually Subset(Science)=Subset(Statistics). Would you also like some venn diagrams with that?

  9. Since when is "white" a culture? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They can divide this up by white/black/asian/indian/etc, but they aren't dividing it up by culture. Quite often whites in America have very little in common... just like Taiwanese and Koreans have very little in common (aside from being 'asian')... or Tanzanians and Russians... T^T

    1. Re:Since when is "white" a culture? by mcvos · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's not race, it's culture. There are typical "black" and "white" subcultures in the US. Or at least subcultures where not every skin color is proportionally represented. Not every person with black or white skin identifies with those subcultures, but they will have a big impact on these kind of statistics.

      There is of course also a geek/engineering culture. From these OKCupid statistics, you can tell that a significant number of Asians and Indians (don't they also come from Asia?) identify with geeky/engineering themes, whereas among whites and blacks they get completely drowned in the much larger numbers of jocks/hiphoppers/etc. Is that because Asians and Indians are genetically that much more disposed towards engineering? Or could it be that they come from a culture that values engineering more? Or maybe Indians and Asians with valuable engineering skills are more likely to migrate to the US than their non-engineer relatives.

      There's really a lot more culture than race involved in these lists.

  10. Race? by agm · · Score: 3, Insightful

    White is not a race and neither is black.
    Just saying.

    1. Re:Race? by guyminuslife · · Score: 4, Interesting

      As someone who took a semester of Sociology 101 years ago, I am here to snobbishly inform you that race is a social construction and that you can divvy it up however you wish.

      (Actually, as I vaguely recall reading---I took more than just the 101 course---there's a wealth of fascinating legal history about the construction of race in this country other than the typical White/Black/Native American issues, mainly due to naturalization law. I think I remember something about Indians arguing that they were white once science caught on to the genesis, but were ruled nonwhite because they had darker skin. And a Japanese guy who argued that he was white because he had light skin, but was ruled nonwhite because...I forget. Slanty eyes, maybe.)

      --
      I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
    2. Re:Race? by Vintermann · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They told you that too, did they? Apparently you think that if it's non-PC, it must be true and intellectually brave to believe.

      --
      xkcd is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.
  11. Hmmm, they somehow missed by SlimXero · · Score: 2, Funny

    How 99.9% of women between the ages of 15-40 list themselves as bisexual. Odd.

    1. Re:Hmmm, they somehow missed by PyroMosh · · Score: 2, Informative

      They didn't miss it. They covered it in a different analysis.

      REALITY: 80% of self-identified bisexuals are only interested in one gender.

      12% of women under 35 on OkCupid (and the internet in general, I'd wager) self-identify as bi. However, as you can see above, only about 1 in 4 of those women is actually into both guys and girls at the same time. I know this will come as a big letdown to the straight male browsing population: three-fourths of your fantasies are, in fact, fantasies of a fantasy. Like bi men, most bi women are, for whatever reason, not observably bi. The primacy of America's most popular threesome, two dudes and an Xbox, is safe.

      The full analysis is here (scroll down a bit):

      http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/the-biggest-lies-in-online-dating/

  12. Above everything else... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    White people love reading lists about what white people like.

    1. Re:Above everything else... by mjwx · · Score: 5, Funny

      White people love reading lists about what white people like.

      Actually I like reading lists about what Asian women like,

      From today I'm a simple person and mechanical engineer who enjoys noodles, cricket and basketball.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    2. Re:Above everything else... by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2, Funny

      The surprising thing for me is that apparently I *am* asian.

      OK, I'll go scurry off and read Freakonomics now..

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  13. 100 Cats? by VirginMary · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, I think 100 is a bit excessive, but how about 1 or 2? I used to live with 2 cats but now only have one and think it is wonderful but what really makes my life enjoyable is the 40k comic books that I own. And no, I don't see anything wrong with being a nerd! I feel that I have been a happier person than most other people and my "secret" is to simply do what *I* enjoy and not giving a damn whether other people do the same thing and/or approve of it or not!

    --
    When 1person suffers from a delusion,it is called insanity.When many people suffer from a delusion,it is called religion
  14. lies in the summary... by Kristopeit,+M.+D. · · Score: 2, Insightful

    the groupings give a glimpse of what makes each culture unique

    NOT TRUE. the groupings give a glimpse of what makes members each culture who would sign up for a dating website named "okcupid" unique.

  15. Uhhh... by tool462 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    According to the results white men like nothing better than Tom Clancy, Van Halen, and golfing.

    I'm pretty sure this should be categorized under "The Wrong Kind of White People".

  16. Like many nerds, you are over analysing by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Such stuff is an ADVERTISEMENT. The woman is trying to sell herself, so she lists stuff that she thinks make her attractive to others.

    Normal people don't spend all their time thinking everything through as if it is a move in a chess game.

    Think of it as going to an exotic location on holiday just to bake in the sun. You want to world to see you as an exciting person who has seen the world, when all you really want to do is not do anything at all.

    Really, the reason nerds often do bad with women is because they overthink it all. STOP. If women were complicated, jocks wouldn't be able to deal with them.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

    1. Re:Like many nerds, you are over analysing by mcvos · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, when you're on a dating site, it's very much worth it to repel the people you're not interested in. If you seem attractive to everybody, you'll be approached by everybody, and you're in for a lot of work trying to figure out who might possibly like the real you. Instead, be honest about your bad side, and you might find someone who doesn't mind that bad side.

      Of course it's also good to be aware of your bad aspects and work on them. Nothing wrong with liking comic books (to take just one example), as long as it doesn't completely dominate your profile.

    2. Re:Like many nerds, you are over analysing by SlappyBastard · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But, from the female end, simply posting a dating profile means being flooded. The male of our species isn't discriminating or subtle or easily discouraged. Especially online.

      --
      I scream. You scream. I assume that means we're both acquainted with the problem. We proceed.
  17. Re:white men? by interkin3tic · · Score: 3, Funny

    How dare you think that as a Canadian I don't like Van Halen!

    That wasn't an extremely polite way of saying that... admit it, you're not actually Canadian, are you? You're from New York! Nice try, NY, but -real- Canadians would apologize for being Canadian and liking Van Halen, and then would invite AC to have a beer.

  18. Re:Idiot Online Dating Sites by mcvos · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's not an either/or thing. You can join a dating site and go out and meet people. Having hobbies and meeting people is healthy even if you already have a relationship. Joining a hiking club with the explicit expectation to pick up a girl there is not such a good idea. It might happen, but it's not what hiking clubs are for (unlike dating sites).

    I go out and meet people, my wife goes out and meets people, yet we met on a dating site. My brother goes out and meets people but is still single. Dating sites definitely fill a useful role, and according to various surveys, they do often lead to healthy and stable relationships. Don't expect them to be a substitute for having a life, because they're not. But that doesn't mean they add nothing of value.

  19. But false advertising hardly seems the answer by Moraelin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But false advertising hardly seems to be a way to start a relationship you'll actually enjoy.

    For a start there's the aspect that you're essentially starting your relationship with a lie. It's not a way to say "let's trust each other" in the long run. Once you're aware that she lied her ass off to land what she thinks is a prize male, what else is she lying about? It's not even a way to boost confidence, as basically if she was after a generic prize male and not after someone actually matching or anything, you're nothing more than a fungible commodity.

    But that's not even the most important part.

    The more perverse part is that it's selecting someone whose personality is pretty much guaranteed to not match hers. A guy who's actually into camping and going fishing and traveling to exotic locations, is going to want to actually do that. That's what he's interested in, and that's what makes him happy. But if she really hates those, only put those in to seem more attractive, and is actually into watching soap operas and shopping... that's not going to be all that good a match, is it? At some point down the line it's either going to mean a lot of being alone on weekends for her and whining about how men are so insensitive as to go fishing and leave her alone, while the guy is still doing his activity solo in spite of having been mistakenly thinking that he found a girl to accompany him. Or it's going to mean her freezing her ass off in a tent on some mountain and hating every minute of it, just because she lied about it before. Or various other variants of essentially not being particularly happy with what the other's actual interests are.

    On a site designed for matching interests, why not, you know, actually try to actually match interests?

    If your interests are shopping for clothes, why not put that down and maybe find a guy who's also into shopping for clothes? Granted, he'll probably be gay, but still... ;) Or at least someone who knows up front what he's getting into, and is prepared to resign to that fate.

    Essentially, I'm reminded of The Beauty And The Beast. It's apparently actually a story which can cause women to stay in an abusive relationship, because they learned that eventually they'll change the beast. (At least according to one study.) Or even essentially look for the most fashionable beast on the block, because, hey, you can change him later. Except the beast never changes, and nagging him will just get you to see a bit more of the beast part. Usually coming at high speed at you.

    In this case she's choosing to attract the kind of person which is pretty much guaranteed not to actually like the real her. It's just fishing for a different kind of beast. And if anyone is thinking that either beast will change, they're still going to have a funny surprise down the road.

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
    1. Re:But false advertising hardly seems the answer by Rogerborg · · Score: 2, Funny

      While you were typing all that, I just lied my way into dates with three banging hot chicks who are into long walks and pilates-skydiving or whatever the hell it was that I ticked. Now, which of us has fitted genes, Poindexter?

      --
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