Romeo Rose Defends Girlfriend Search: There are Different Standards for Men and Women

The man from Texas who hit the headlines after publishing an advert to find a white, slim, attractive and chaste girlfriend has responded to accusations that he is racist and sexist.

Romeo Rose, 39, offered $1,500 on his website sleeplessinaustin.com to anyone who could help him find a girlfriend that met his extensive list of requirements, with another $1,000 if the relationship ended up in marriage.

However, his advert sparked controversy as many people found his checklist offensive.

He wrote: "I will not date a black girl. I don't care if she looks like Halle Berry, I will not ever date a black girl. However, I will date any other race, Hispanic, Mexican, Spanish, Russian, Italian, French, European, white, whatever, anything except black.

"I want the girl to be attractive. I like girls that are thin, or with a toned or athletic build. A average [sic] build is fine too, just as long as you are not overweight. I will not date an overweight or fat girl."

Rose also said he wanted a woman who had not had many sexual partners: "I will not date any girl that has ever had a threesome, or a large number of past sexual partners. I do not want a promiscuous slut, I want a normal, decent, good hearted girlfriend."

Responding to criticisms of his advert, Rose told IBTimes UK: "What does sexism have to do with looks? No, I don't want some feminist that's militant, doesn't shave her legs and has more testosterone than an average man.

"Men are very visual. Looks aren't everything, but there has to be physical attraction, or the rest of the package will not even matter.

"I think it's more ok for a man to have a past sexual history of many sexual partners.

"There's a standard for men, and then there's a standard for women. I think women like a man more if he's had a lot of sexual partners because they think he's has more sexual expertise and prowess.

"The number of sexual partners depends on the girl's age. I think more than one every three to five years is kind of excessive. I mean more than that and it makes me question the girl's stability and ability to have a successful long-term relationship."

Rose said he has had hundreds of phone calls about the advert and is receiving over 2,000 emails every day: "I have gotten some physical threats of violence, but this is Texas and we all have guns here, so I'm not afraid of anyone," he added.

Rose denied accusations of racism and had updated his website to offer an explanation. He said he was very tired when he wrote his advert and had no idea millions of people would read it in its draft state.

"I am not a racist person. I do not hate people based on race. I think that all races were created equal. I believe there are good people and bad people in all races. Just because I am not sexually attracted to black women, does not make me a racist. That's just my personal preference," he wrote.

Addressing people who do not believe Rose had ever had a girlfriend, he said: "I've also posted a few photos of my ex-girlfriend in the photo section due the extreme amount of mail and comments I have gotten saying no one believes I ever even had a girlfriend or that they don't think any woman would ever want to be with me."