Since moving to a western country his early 20s Hardik Sharma has not had much success on the dating scene, and he thinks he knows why - because he's Fijian-Indian
"On dating apps, a lot of girls write 'no black guys, no Asians, no Indians' - that kind of thing," Hardik explains. He says many of his mates - fellow migrants from the likes of Vietnam, China and Fiji - have faced similar struggles
Yue Qian, a sociologist at the University of British Columbia, says this comes down to racial stereotypes of Asian men as inferior to westerners. "Asian men are seen as unmasculine, geeky and 'undesirable"
Data suggests sexual racism has become even worse in the digital era. Dating apps haven't exactly tried to put a lid on race-based discrimination. Some have got rid of ethnicity filters but but many still remain. Asian men are among the worst-affected as a result - a 2013 US study finding this group receives the fewest unsolicited messages from women
The discrimination isn't always subtle,"Fat guys, short guys and dark guys please head left," reads one Bumble profile. Another user said they were looking for a "tall, white and handsome man"
"On dating apps, a lot of girls write 'no black guys, no Asians, no Indians' - that kind of thing," Hardik explains. He says many of his mates - fellow migrants from the likes of Vietnam, China and Fiji - have faced similar struggles
Yue Qian, a sociologist at the University of British Columbia, says this comes down to racial stereotypes of Asian men as inferior to westerners. "Asian men are seen as unmasculine, geeky and 'undesirable"
Data suggests sexual racism has become even worse in the digital era. Dating apps haven't exactly tried to put a lid on race-based discrimination. Some have got rid of ethnicity filters but but many still remain. Asian men are among the worst-affected as a result - a 2013 US study finding this group receives the fewest unsolicited messages from women
The discrimination isn't always subtle,"Fat guys, short guys and dark guys please head left," reads one Bumble profile. Another user said they were looking for a "tall, white and handsome man"
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