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November 2021 Vol. 59 No. 3

University of California Press

The following review appeared in the November 2021 issue of CHOICE. The review is for your internal use only. Please review our Permission and Reprints Guidelines or email permissions@ala-choice.org.

Social & Behavioral Sciences
Sociology

59-0902

HQ801

CIP

Curington, Celeste Vaughan. The dating divide: race and desire in the era of online romance, by Celeste Vaughan Curington, Jennifer Hickes Lundquist, and Ken-Hou Lin. California, 2021. 320p bibl index ISBN 9780520293441, $85.00; ISBN 9780520293458 pbk, $29.95; ISBN 9780520966703 ebook, $29.95.

The Dating Divide is a unique study of online dating, an area not readily studied but significant to modern society. The question of race in online dating is not one that this reviewer had previously considered, but this book clarifies the need for increasing research in this area. Authors Curington (North Carolina State Univ.), Lundquist (Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst), and Lin (University of Texas, Austin) look at issues of privilege, stereotypes, and racial assumptions. Questions involving social media and the likeliness of contacting individuals of differing races or of mixed race are investigated, as is the existence of a hierarchy of desirability. This volume is an important read given the increase in online dating, social media use, and other online experiences. The role of race in these interactions is an important area of examination and will no doubt be increasingly important. This text will provide great classroom discussions and opportunities for individual reflection.

--L. L. Lovern, Valdosta State University

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.