#MyLoveIsBlackLove
Was born from listening
Events in 2020 have highlighted a lack of Black representation and empowerment in day to day life and this extends to how people feel about love. With conversation building around the Black experience in Britain, we wanted to learn more about the impact this might be having on Gen Z and Millennials, particularly when dating. What we found was that overwhelmingly Black people in Britain want to see more positive representations of Black Love and that doing so would have positive impacts on their emotional and mental wellbeing as a result.
Do you think Black British Love is well represented online?
Only 39% respondents said that when they first started dating, they felt that the images and stories they saw about dating, love and relationships depicted people like themselves, and showed experiences which felt relevant to them and their lives
Over half (52%) of respondents do not think Black British love is well represented online.
Over two thirds (67%) of female respondents do not think Black British love is well represented online, compared to over a third (36%) of male respondents who said the same.
The research showed that 79% of respondents think that there is a lack of relatable images and stories about what it is like to date as a Black British person. Millennials felt most strongly about this with over 4 in 5 (84%) thinking is a lack of relatable images and stories about what it is like to date as a Black British person. Of those who think there is a lack of relatable representation, more than half (52%) state that this has a negative impact on their mental wellbeing.
Men were most negatively affected by the lack of relatable images and stories about what it is like to date as a Black British person with over two thirds (67%) saying it does negatively impact their mental wellbeing. This is compared to 2 in 5 (39%) women who said the same. Two thirds (66%) of millennials said the lack of relatable images and stories about what it is like to date as a British Black person does negatively impact their mental wellbeing.
The 5 top ways seeing more representation of Black Love would make respondents feel when approaching dating are:
Nearly three quarters (74%) of respondents think it is important that dating apps play a role in the way Black Love is depicted in mainstream online media, with 4 in 5 (85%) saying this falls to dating apps to play a role.
Bumble surveyed 1,000 people in the UK who identify as Black Caribbean, Black African, Black British and Black and White Mixed to gain their thoughts and experiences around the representation of Black Love in online mainstream media. People aged 16-60 across the UK took part in the survey to provide Bumble with a further understanding around the issues that the Black British community face when approaching dating and relationships. The survey was conducted by Censuswide.
