THE END OF LOVE: Racism, Sexism, and the Death of Romance

Late Night Health Radio

So what happened to love? What’s behind the growing trend of "situationships" and why has this scenario been made even more precarious for Black women and other women of color? For anyone who’s been left wondering whether or not they are witnessing the collective collapse of traditional romantic love, sociologist Sabrina Strings has the answer– yes, they are, and the evidence is all around us.
In THE END OF LOVE: Racism, Sexism, and the Death of Romance, Strings blends historical research, personal stories, and critical analysis of popular culture to trace the path that she believes has led to the demise of romantic partnerships, with an emphasis on how racism and anti-feminist ideology have been the driving force behind it.

Sabrina Strings, professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will discuss: *How changes brought forward during the Civil Rights era resulted in Black men distancing themselves from Black and “insufficiently white” women and aligning themselves with white men in order to pursue a rise in personal status. *How men’s media counseled its audience to be wary of women’s intentions, narrowly selective in their choice of partners, or to avoid marriage all together. *The rise and fall of the Black is Beautiful movement. *The problematic portrayal of Black women in popular culture. *How the widespread availability of porn online has influenced sexual relationships and men’s expectations for partners.

Sabrina Strings, PhD is professor and North Hall Chair of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her book, Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia, won the 2020 Body and Embodiment Best Publication Award given by the American Sociological Association and was an Honorable Mention in the 2020 Sociology of Sex and Gender Distinguished Book Award, given by the American Sociological Association.
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