Professor Ryan Wade, working with a professor of health behavior and health education at the University of Michigan, is researching racial sexual discrimination (RSD), a phenomenon that is happening with some regularity in online communities and mobile apps for gay and bisexual men. From an Illinois News Bureau article: “The researchers note that these race-based preferences – usually expressed by the white majority seeking to exclude people of color – are a common part of the narrative within these online spaces.”
Wade has co-created a scale that measures the impact of this discrimination, which is currently being tested through a project called ProfileD, where they’ve invited young gay and bisexual black men ages 18-29 to participate in an online survey.
You can read more about the research here.
Photo by L. Brian Stauffer from Illinois News Bureau