Dating Rituals

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Dating Rituals

Dating in our culture is a mysterious thing. The actual definition of a ‘date’ is different for certain people, in certain places and at a certain point in time. Even so, trying to define what dating really is very difficult. But in a general understanding of the term, dating is two people spending time together and going out and doing things, without any real sense of commitment towards each other. That is, they are both generally free to go on dates with other people as well. Focusing on heterosexual dating, there are many patterns or rituals that go into the whole concept of dating. These are hard to tag, because dating rituals are often distinct to particular settings. However, dating rituals have visibly changed throughout the twentieth century, and it is largely due to an advancing society. The advancement of women’s rights, the sexual revolution, and a more liberal and accepting society all help contribute to this change.

A classic view of a date is one that might have occurred in the some time in the past. It is not to say that they don’t ever happen like this anymore, but it rare in the situations I have seen. Here is my perception of a classic date. A date is most often is initiated by the man and it would be considered improper for a woman to ask a man on a date. The popular form of communication used to acquire a date is the telephone, where the man will usually ask the woman out to dinner and a movie, for example. The man will usually be the one that provides transportation, and will go pick the woman up at her home. The man will possibly have some sort of gift for the woman, such as flowers. They will both depart from there and go to dinner, where the man will pay. The man will often ...

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...hey are involved in a commitment. An attractive girl always seems to become a little more popular when she becomes single. The rating system exists today, but not like it did in the economy of dating that Bailey discussed. It is more of an approval rating by peers based on the person’s qualities that you are dating, not their popularity. Trying to define dating proved to be difficult because it is a hard term to define, and it means different people to different things. My synopsis of dating in the modern world could be totally altered from someone else’s. I tried to write about what I have seen though, and how dating appears to work in my peer group. I believe that the peer group that I have been involved with is a good control group for popular society. However, it is always going to be difficult to try to make a lot of generalizations on dating rituals.

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