Session 363: Black Women’s Romantic Pursuits in the Media

Therapy for Black Girls

It’s easy to dismiss dating reality TV shows like Love Island and The Bachelor as trashy, guilty pleasure TV, but as we watch Black women contestants continuously get discarded by their male counterparts, chosen last if chosen at all, and edited in a way that promotes stereotypes, it can make the IRL pursuit of romance feel a lot more bleak.

Digging into this idea a little bit more with me today is Dr. Sarah Adeyinka-Skold. Dr. Sarah earned her sociology doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied how the processes of finding romantic partners with racial and gender inequality in the United States. She is also a licensed clinical social worker in three states. During our conversation, we chatted about viral dating show contestants like AD & Tiffany from Love is Blind, Paige from Married at First Sight, and how their stories — and the world’s reactions to them – reflect the real life woes that Black women face while trying to date in a society where we face both gender and racial discrimination.

About the Podcast

The Therapy for Black Girls Podcast is a weekly conversation with Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed Psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia, about all things mental health, personal development, and all the small decisions we can make to become the best possible versions of ourselves.

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