Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 2 hours ago
Everyone has preferences when they date, but does everyone have a type? Refinery29 talks about the traits that stand out to them when they date.
Transcript
00:00When it comes to dating, everyone has a type, right?
00:03But where did these dating preferences come from?
00:05Let's find out what your type really means.
00:08Hi guys, I'm Channing, and unfortunately, I have a little bit of a dating preference.
00:13And I definitely have a type.
00:14And I do have a type.
00:15And I definitely do have a type.
00:17I, a thousand percent, have a strong type.
00:20My type is big, friendly, and a little feminine.
00:25Tall, scruffy, hairy, built.
00:28Tall, pretty boys who are definitely not good for me.
00:32Punky redheads with piercings and tattoos.
00:36I like tanned guys.
00:37Guys with curly brown hair specifically.
00:40I do like curly hair.
00:41Um, tall.
00:42He's usually a Virgo and brown skin.
00:44Sort of artsy, grungy, weirdo boys.
00:48They tend to travel in packs and wear a lot of pastels and drink a lot of rosé.
00:54You can generally find them cruising around the Hamptons on any given July weekend.
01:00I was six years old, and I fell in love with Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
01:05Saw her up on that rock with her, like, flowing red hair in the sea.
01:10And I was just like, yes, redheads, that's it for me.
01:14It started with my love of Seth Cohen on The O.C.
01:18He's like the gateway hipster boy.
01:21I was obsessed with He-Man as far back as I can remember.
01:24I literally remember taking He-Man's armor off and rubbing his abs with my tiny thumb as a child.
01:32My second concert was NSYNC, and I love, love, love, love, love JC Shazay.
01:39He is indeed a brunette pretty boy, and he sings and he dances like he-
01:44Well, what more could I want?
01:45I don't even know.
01:46According to genetic assortative mating, researchers say that people are subconsciously on the lookout
01:52for people with similar attributes as theirs, such as body type, physical traits, and ethnicity.
01:59I like dating plus-size women because I myself am plus-size, and we have shared experiences with that.
02:07I don't have to explain what my life is like to them.
02:10They just understand it.
02:11I mostly had dated black guys because growing up, I mostly was around black people.
02:15I'm black.
02:16Like, it just was how things worked out.
02:18But now that I'm dating someone who's Spanish, and I'm also Spanish, it works out.
02:22So I think that it's, for me, what I'm attracted to, who I like being around.
02:25In the Northeast, there is definitely sort of a bro culture, especially the college that I went to.
02:31So I think it's really all I knew.
02:34I think people date within their own sort of cultural comfort circles because it reminds them of a family.
02:42And why would you not want to date someone who could potentially be a member of your family?
02:48In terms of his looks, in terms of his personality, in terms of his faith, like, I go towards men
02:53who look like my dad.
02:54You know, if you do have a positive experience with your father, then that's something that you're kind of looking
02:59for in a man because you know that that type of man has loved you before, so they're going to
03:02love you now.
03:03Besides physical traits, there are a lot of factors that play into people's type.
03:08Education, socioeconomic status, race, and upbringing have a lot to do with it.
03:12It's okay to have a type, but I think the problem comes when you start bashing all those people who
03:19don't fit in your type.
03:20I think type and race is really tricky.
03:23As long as you're respecting them as people and not treating them as objects, I don't think there's a huge
03:28problem with having a racial type.
03:30There is a line between a personal preference and racism.
03:35And I think when your preference is rooted in ignorance, it becomes racist.
03:39So if you're a racist, it's deep-rooted in something that's not good.
03:44It's hate.
03:46But when you have a type, it's something that you love.
03:48Having a type is just, like, liking certain features about someone.
03:51I don't think there's anything wrong with appreciating something like that.
03:54There are always deal breakers when it comes to dating.
03:57So what makes you swipe left or right?
04:00The only super strict deal breaker I have is smoking.
04:04Someone who, like, can't have fun, like someone who's super judgy.
04:07Former reality TV star, aspiring reality TV star, also a deal breaker.
04:13If you're in an app and your picture is a shirtless mirror selfie, so help me God, I'm running for
04:20the hills.
04:21Height, you have to be taller than me.
04:24Not attracted to people who are shorter than I am.
04:26When I'm, like, with someone who is literally eye-to-eye level and we're, like, about to kiss or something,
04:30it's weird.
04:31It's, like, instant friend zone because I guess I assume that, like, it's a friend.
04:36I don't know why.
04:37These are all so shallow.
04:39Remember that it's important to keep an open mind when dating.
04:42You might even end up with someone completely unexpected and not necessarily your type.
04:46When you think too much about what your type is, I feel like it's really easy to get caught up
04:50in filling those checkboxes and you might lose out on somebody really great.
04:54A lot of the time, your type is just sort of this, like, standard you set for yourself, you know,
04:59or a personality that you would like based on qualifications you think would be suitable to you.
05:03But at the end of the day, what works just works.
05:05Have fun dating, y'all.
05:06We'll see you next time.
05:08God, I'm glad I'm not dating anymore.
05:10God, I'm glad I'm not dating anymore.

Recommended