Dating Behaviors of Older Black Women

The complexities of older Black women's dating behaviors and preferences were uncovered in this phenomenology study with 14 older Black single and/or widowed women. The participants recognized that, as older Black women, their sexuality did not simply pertain to whether they were dating, it encompassed various factors that influenced their decisions about whether to date. These factors were categorized into three major themes: pursuing intimacy, dating preferences, and barriers to dating. The adoption of the Black feminist standpoint theory helped to understand their dating experiences in the context of the participants' Blackness. The women's subjective experiences with dating and the challenges that they face as older Black women demonstrated the complexities and intersections of race, gender, class, and age within this contextual analysis. These findings hold important practical implications for understanding the influence of the older women's Blackness on their experiences and how it shapes their dating behavior. These understandings will help social workers and gerontologists better appreciate and validate older Black women's self-determination in their dating choices and the need to support them.