The Oxford study keeps coming up on TikTok, but what does it mean? A full analysis

The Oxford study is cropping up a lot on TikTok at the minute and it took me a while to work out what the hell it actually means.

The term has been left in the comments of videos of couples, sometimes in a mocking way, but many people are assuming there’s some actual study out there on the topic. Here’s a full explanation.

The Oxford study is used to refer to Asian women and white men

@angiehuu

I love perpetuating a stereotype #oxfordstudy

♬ Sugar On My Tongue – Tyler, The Creator

I’d never heard of the Oxford study before, but it’s sometimes mentioned in the TikTok comments on videos of Asian women and white men. Niche, but it’s in reference to this hypothetical study about cultural preferences when it comes to dating. So the term “Oxford study” isn’t actually referring to a study at all, but it’s coined the term as so many people think it should be studied by the institution.

The phrase “according to an Oxford study” was actually trending on TikTok last year, used as a joke to pretend a hot take or opinion was legit. It then snowballed into the stereotype between multicultural relationship.

Social media users have since used the term to stereotype these relationships. Some examples also include clips of men doing stupid things, with viewers commenting that the women must only be with them because of the Oxford study.

@kailawenn

Replying to @caiti ౨ৎ ˖ ࣪⊹ some thoughts on the “oxford study”

♬ original sound – kaila

So when someone writes “Oxford study” in a comment, it’s not actually in reference to a real study. It’s actually a mean jab and judgement on who people date under the guise of academic authority.

Most Read

The deeper meaning of why Ed Gein saw everything green in The Ed Gein Story’s episode four

Bonnie Blue offends 800k people as she names and shames two ‘sh*thole’ UK cities

Ian Watkins’ Lostprophets bandmate responds after the paedophile singer was killed in prison

A lot of people have recreated videos using the term, including one user Angie. She captioned her video: “Meeting up with my bf’s co-worker and the girl he’s seeing for drinks and I’m laughing that we are two Oxford study couples.”

Featured image via TikTok @kirahedtke @angiehuu