Choosing a Partner
Dating
Choosing a partner

Do we all choose who we get married to?
 “Free-choice culture”
 Any exceptions?
Let’s think:
If a partner had the qualities you desired,
would you marry if you weren’t in love?”
If a partner had the qualities you desired, would
you marry if you weren’t in love?
Courtship and dating

1828 Webster dictionary defined courtship
as “the act of soliciting favor, the act of
wooing in love, solicitation of a woman to
marriage”
 Courtship = preparation for marriage
 The word dating emerged in 1910’s


By the 1910s, adolescent boys, in growing
numbers, had begun to ask girls out.
During the 1920s and 1930s, dating also began to
involve parties and high school events, including
dances, plays, and football games.
Dating Today

Consists of an exclusive relationship
developed through a series of appointed
meetings
Why do we date?

Dating may serve a few functions:
Pleasure
 Romance
 Learning to relate to the opposite or same
sex (depending on sexual orientation)
 To gain one’s progressive commitment to
marriage.
 Other reasons?

Hooking up
“Fast food of dating”
 A casual sexual encounter — anything
from kissing onwards — with no strings
attached

Hooking up
60-84 % of students reported having
hooked up
 Different than one-night stand because it
doesn’t necessarily involve sexual
intercourse

How many times have you hooked
up?
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Never
1- 4
times
5-10
times
More
than 10
Some facts about hooking up
Only 14% did not know the person
 Almost half of the hook ups started at a
party
 On average, girls had 3, guys had 5
drinks
 What does it imply to have hooked up?

What did you do when you hooked
up?
34%
19%
22% 23%
Percentage
Kissing/nongenital
touching
34%
Hand stimulating
genitals
19%
Oral sex
22%
Intercourse
23%
Where do hook ups lead to?

A) Nothing
 B) Friends with benefits
 C) Exclusive relationship (rarely)
 DTR
 What is it?
 Who is more likely to initiate it?
Where do hook ups lead to?

Agree or Disagree to: “People who hook up
and have sex the first night don’t end up in a
stable relationship”



43.3% agreed
20.6% disagreed
33.1% Undecided
Where do we meet people?







Friends
Different locations
Online dating
Myspace, facebook
Video dating
Speed dating
Mail order brides
Internet dating