Different but Somewhat Similar: Panethnicity, Group Boundaries, and Dating Preferences among Asian and Latino College Students

Abstract

Few studies of romantic unions focus on interethnic preferences among Asians and Latinos to discern the salience of panethnicity in dating. Using unique mixed-methods data, which disaggregates the ethnic identity of respondents and their preferred partners, we examine patterns of panethnic and non-panethnic dating choices among Asian and Latino college students and their explanations for their preferences. We find that Asian college students, except for Filipinos, desire co-panethnic partners more than Latinos do, although only certain co-panethnics are preferred. Students use narratives about culture, phenotype, family, and familiarity in different ways to justify their preferences. In some cases, these criteria guide them to preferences in line with common understandings of where panethnic boundaries lie. In others, preferences reveal alternative conceptions of group boundaries based on phenotypic and cultural differences with co-panethnics or similarities across panethnic lines. These findings complicate existing understandings of panethnicity and challenge the durability of panethnic boundaries.