New research from the University of Southampton and Harvard University reveals compelling insights into how political affiliations influence success on dating apps. The study exposes a striking divide along ideological lines, demonstrating that Reform voters, often associated with radical right-wing views, enjoy more favorable outcomes on dating platforms compared to Conservative voters. Furthermore, the data suggest that left-wing users tend to express a strong bias against right-wing profiles, underscoring the growing polarization in contemporary society.
The research examines the dynamics of political bias in digital romantic interactions by deploying an experimental methodology in which thousands of fictional dating profiles, each embedded with varying political identifiers, are evaluated by real app users. A total of 2,000 participants, aged 18 to 40—the demographic representing the majority of Tinder users—were asked to swipe left or right on profiles that subtly indicated political allegiance alongside other personal details such as occupation and hobbies. This extensive dataset, encompassing over 20,000 swipes, offered a comprehensive view of how political preferences intersect with dating behavior.
Analysis of the swiping patterns reveals that Reform voters, representing a populist radical right, tend to be more successful in generating matches than Conservative voters, challenging conventional assumptions about social perceptions of political radicals. Left-wing voters, including those affiliated with Labour, Green, and Liberal Democrat parties, demonstrated a pronounced tendency to reject profiles categorized as right-wing, particularly those indicating Conservative support. This asymmetry in acceptance rates highlights the intensified social polarization permeating even intimate social spaces.
The study further underscores that voters from the two principal parties—Conservative and Labour—rarely express interest in dating someone from the opposing ideological camp. Interestingly, Conservative voters showed more openness to Reform voters than to Labour affiliates. Lead author Dr. Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte interprets these findings as symptomatic of heightened polarization: centrists are migrating toward partners who align closer on the ideological spectrum, effectively reinforcing political homogeneity in personal relationships. This phenomenon can exacerbate divisions in the broader social fabric.
In a nuanced interpretation, the researchers posit that Conservative voters’ relative comfort with Reform voters compared to Labour supporters is less about ideological affinity and more about a willingness to engage with adjacent political positions rather than diametrically opposed ones. This insight demonstrates a layered complexity in the social acceptance of political identities that transcends straightforward left-right dichotomies. The implications suggest that radical right-wing parties are becoming normalized to a degree that alters traditional social taboos.
Younger, socially liberal participants—more commonly associated with Labour, Green, and Liberal Democrat sympathies—exhibited greater match success overall. These findings align with demographic trends indicating that younger generations tend to engage with dating apps more frequently and display more tolerant social attitudes. Consequently, radical right-wing profiles encounter limited stigma among certain voter segments, raising important questions about shifting political landscapes and the social integration of formerly marginalized political positions.
Investigating the impact of radical right-wing support in a transnational context, the study also included Spanish users evaluating profiles indicating support for Vox, a comparable radical right-wing party. Vox-supporting profiles fared worse relative to other political groups but retained substantial favorability among right-wing users. In Spain, right-wing voters were nearly 50% more likely to swipe right on Vox profiles compared to their left-wing counterparts. This pattern of selective acceptance underscores persistent ideological clustering in dating preferences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Crucially, the lack of widespread social stigma attached to expressing support for radical right-wing parties potentially weakens mainstream parties’ incentives to distance themselves from such groups. Polarization and normalization processes create an electoral environment where mainstream politicians may find alignment with radical right-wing policies advantageous. Dr. Turnbull-Dugarte suggests that this reduced social cost effectively collapses the barrier to cooperation, evidenced in recent policy convergences on issues like immigration by major parties.
The researchers utilized AI-generated images and carefully constructed profiles to ensure that non-political attributes such as physical attractiveness and hobbies remained constant, isolating political identity as the key variable influencing swiping behavior. This rigorous experimental design strengthens the credibility of the findings by controlling for confounding factors commonly present in observational dating data. As a result, the study offers compelling quantitative evidence on the sociopolitical dimensions of modern dating.
Moreover, the phenomenon identified as “centrifugal affect” highlights the centrifugal force of increasing political polarization pushing individuals towards partners with closely aligned or adjacent political beliefs, effectively centrifuging the dating pool into ideologically homogeneous clusters. This quantitative insight offers a new conceptual framework for understanding how political divisions manifest in deeply personal social contexts, such as romantic relationships, with potential feedback effects on political cohesion.
The temporal relevance of this research is significant, as it was published shortly before the 2025 election cycles in the UK and Spain, underscoring immediate real-world implications. Given the rising polling numbers of radical right-wing parties and their increasing normalization within mainstream political discourse, understanding the social dynamics underpinning voter behavior can inform strategies for political engagement and social integration initiatives.
Ultimately, this study enriches the discourse on political polarization by illuminating how ideological divides permeate everyday social interactions beyond public political arenas, extending into the private domain of dating and romantic partnerships. Its findings invite policymakers, social scientists, and the public to reconsider the social costs and consequences of political identity, not only in voting booths but also in the intimate choices individuals make about who they choose to connect with and potentially build relationships with.
Subject of Research: People
Article Title: Far Right Normalization & Centrifugal Affect. Evidence from the Dating Market
News Publication Date: 16-May-2025
Web References:
– https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/736698
– http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/736698
References: Far Right Normalization & Centrifugal Affect. Evidence from the Dating Market. The Journal of Politics, 2025
Image Credits: University of Southampton
Keywords: Political science, Social sciences, Sociopolitical systems
