HETERO(SEXUAL) DOMINANCE: UNDERSTANDING HOSTILITY TOWARD WOMEN WHO DATE OUTSIDE THE GROUP

Historical records suggest American laws against interracial relationships were selectively enforced to separate White women and non-White men. We present experimental and archival evidence that White men are more hostile to interracial relationships involving White women, because these relationships represent an out-group member dominating an in-group member. In Study 1, participants expressed more negative attitudes towards a White woman-Black man couple, which was mediated by perceptions that the White woman was lower status when paired with a Black partner (vs. a White partner). In Study 2, we present archival evidence that that the greater the proportion of women in their family, the more opposed both White and Black men are to a family member marrying a person of another race. This suggests that men view hierarchy as an inherent component of close relationships, shedding light on the role of gender and sexuality in maintaining status hierarchies.