Black Women's Lived Love-Hate Relationship with Online Dating James Henry Johnson Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected]

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Black Women's Lived Love-Hate Relationship with Online Dating James Henry Johnson Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Jhjohnson2@Gmail.Com Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 5-1-2017 Dating_MissRepresentation.Com: Black Women's Lived Love-Hate Relationship With Online Dating James Henry Johnson Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Johnson, James Henry, "Dating_MissRepresentation.Com: Black Women's Lived Love-Hate Relationship With Online Dating" (2017). Dissertations. 1363. http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/1363 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DATING_MISSREPRESENTATION.COM: BLACK WOMEN’S LIVED LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH ONLINE DATING by James H. Johnson M.A Ed., California State University Long Beach, 2010 B.S., California State University Long Beach, 2005 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy. Department of Mass Communications and Media Arts in the Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale May 2017 Copyright by James H. Johnson 2017 All Rights Reserved DISSERTATION APPROVAL DATING_MISSREPRESENTATION.COM: BLACK WOMEN’S LIVED LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH ONLINE DATING By James H. Johnson A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in the field of Mass Communication and Media Arts Approved by: Novotny Lawrence, Ph.D., Co-Chair Aaron Veenstra, Ph.D., Co-Chair Deborah Tudor, Ph.D. Eileen Meehan, Ph.D. Kenneth Stikkers, Ph.D. Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale March 28, 2017 AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF JAMES H. JOHNSON, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in MASS COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA ARTS, presented on March 28, 2017, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: DATING_MISSREPRESENTATION.COM: BLACK WOMEN’S LIVED LOVE- HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH ONLINE DATING MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Novotny Lawrence and Dr. Aaron Veenstra The increased use of online dating sites has further encouraged corporations’ attempts to capitalize on these mate-seeking trends. Match.com, eHarmony, and OkCupid are primary competitors in a growing market of individuals seeking out potential romantic partners. They offer several mainstream dating options as well as niche-dating sites. Similar to society at large where dating still occurs offline, scholars have revealed that racial hierarchies exist within various online platforms. As such, the roles of gender and ethnicity in online dating environments merit study. Specifically, the experiences of Black women who use Internet dating sites, a virtually unexplored demographic, form the basis of this dissertation. This study consisted of 16 interviews and a demographic survey, which were used to examine Black women’s online dating experiences from their perspectives to determine whether or not online dating sites are productive, love-seeking spaces. Data analysis was conducted utilizing a Google Form survey to collect demographic data and NVivo 11 qualitative software to help generate themes that guided analysis. Themes that emerged included: negative and positive perceptions from men; physical and non-physical attributes participants possessed that men found attractive; whether or not men’s perceptions impacted interview participants’ success or failure in online dating, and whether or not participants viewed their online dating experiences to be in line with those of other Black women. Participants discussed how perceptions from men online influenced their racially-gendered online dating experience. i DEDICATION I would like to extend a special dedication to Lillie Marie Gilliam. My mother was raised on a pecan orchard in rural Redwood, Mississippi in the 50’s. She moved to California where she worked in the basement of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, and years later worked through nursing school while raising three children. As a child of a single parent, I saw my mother work multiple jobs to put three children through private Christian schools, then college and still unconditionally support her children and now her grandchildren. Witnessing her overcome various adversities has fueled and motivated my sisters and me. For that I dedicate my dissertation to my mother. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First I would I like to thank the participants in this study for being so candid and sharing pieces of themselves in an effort to help me complete this project. I want to acknowledge and thank my dissertation committee members: Dr. Novotny Lawrence, Dr. Aaron Veenstra, Dr. Eileen Meehan, Dr. Debra Tudor, and Dr. Ken Stikkers, who all maintained an open door policy allowing me to work out different ideas and discuss academic breakthroughs I was having as a young scholar. I really appreciate you guys for that. A special thank you goes to Dr. Lawrence for always keeping office hours whether it was in the MCMA parking lot and hallways or allowing me to walk in even on busy days. Dr. Beverly Love and Dr. Nanu Iyer for taking me underneath their wings for the first two years deserve special thanks as does Dr. Kavita Karan for introducing me to my first academic research project. Even though we met each other toward the end of my tenure at SIU, I want to thank Father Brown for pushing me to advocate for my scholarship and keeping me intellectually honest. To my family and support system, I offer a huge thank you for your support and love. I am going to list you guys off because there are too many of you guys: Lillie Gilliam, Candra Ross, Chandra Johnson, Xavier and Robbie Ross, Robert Ross, James H Johnson Sr., Joseph Robinson, Katherine and Robert Jackson. You all continue to support me, and I am forever grateful. To my extended support system starting with Dr. Robin Lee, thank you for constantly entertaining my crazy ideas and life goals. I am fortunate to have a mentor who has gladly been my mentor since my undergraduate career. Without your guidance, I would have either caught on late or would have never been aware of the opportunities that awaited me outside of an iii undergraduate degree. Thanks go to Dr. Tara Fallon and Dr. Beth Hewett for your continued support, guidance, and positive reinforcement. To my friends who held me up during this process: Carole Peters, Dr. Rakia Esver, Aaron and Lynette Broom, LeKeisha Davis, Eddie Davenport, Danielle Kinter, Dr. Bethany Kies, Dr. Jessica Goodman, Dr. Martinique Free, Dr. Maia Moore, Emma Moburg-Jones, Mehrete (Mimi) Girmay, Rakshya Basnet, Siedah McNeil, and Brian Marik. You guys represent stages in my life, but good people are hard to find. Thank you for keeping me sane. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... i DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 The Problem .............................................................................................................................. 1 Background of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 5 The Controlling Image .............................................................................................................. 7 The Mammy ........................................................................................................................ 9 The Matriarch.................................................................................................................... 11 The Jezebel........................................................................................................................ 13 Sapphire ............................................................................................................................ 14 The Strong Black Woman (SBW) .................................................................................... 15 Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 21 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 23 Organization of the Dissertation ............................................................................................. 23 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................. 25 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .............................................................................................. 25 Overview ................................................................................................................................. 25 A Brief History of Dating through Media .............................................................................
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