Has Modern Dating Gone Two Steps Forward or Two Steps Back?

Hello readers! I'm proud to announce my partnership with a new international Blog 3six5 Dates as guest blogger. I will be delivering my insight and experience in American dating, cultural, and societal trends. I urge you to follow my posts on that site as they will include a different angle from the material on Ms. Date Guru. I will be preview my blogs on Ms. Date Guru and am welcome to feedback, praises, and criticisms. Here in my first blog I explain the progress, or lack there of, we have made since the times of feminism. Enjoy! and as always email comments and/or feedback to msdateguru@gmail.com


In this modern economic turmoil that rivals The Great Depression, we start to uncover certain inalienable truths and basic human instincts brought on by these times of desperation. We’ve come a long way from the struggles of the feminist movement where female philosophers preached, “women don’t need men,” or so we think. Now that our economy, government, and world climate crisis makes things seem more unstable than ever, many women are finding that they actually do need men.

Considering women have come a long way since the days of feminism: we can vote, we can work, we have reproductive freedoms, there’s still more to go: getting a woman in the White House, earning more than $.077 for every $1.00 a man makes, and minimizing domestic expectations on women. According to many recent studies women are marrying and having children later than past generations, not only in the U.S. but in China as well. We have more freedom over the paths our lives and careers take but still, I hear some women who would trade in their progressive rights for a 1950’s nuclear family lifestyle.

Maybe the reason women generally make $.077 to the $1.00 on men is because of their lack of drive. The esteemed John Gray, noted this as a key difference in his classic, Men Are From Mars, Women are From Venus; men are driven more by power whereas women are driven more by relationships. So for most women, it’s easier to settle down and get married than land that dream job. Still there are many power women out there like: Oprah, Samantha Jones played by: Kim Cattral from Sex and the City, Sarah Palin, Beyonce Knowles, and Lynette Scavo played by Felicity Huffman from Desperate Housewives that are esteemed in their perspective industries and can balance work and a personal life. But finding that balance while maintaining femininity can be tricky for some women.

While some women like to pay the bills, many women now, rather have them paid. With the increasing popularity and prevalence of social media websites, online dating is a natural evolution in our modern, technologically driven world. The sites went from tame, networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, to ways to find singles like Craigslist, and ok cupid and now, to more tailored sites made to suit specific interests. The most provocative of these websites recently published are Seeking Arrangements, and What’s Your Price. These site promise “generous” daters promising users anything from a paid first date, to a sugar baby relationship, it’s geared towards students who need fast cash to pay off loans. It’s as easy as setting up a free account, posting a picture, setting your “allowance” and press search.

Or what about the women who flirt to get ahead? My friend in broadcast journalism has claimed to flirt with the head anchor in order to secure a job for graduation and beat out the other interns. Some may think this is a natural, acceptable method to use other may think it’s shows reliance on sex appeal. Take the famous example of Demi Moore, she dated a heartthrob in the 80’s, Bruce Willis at his peak in the 90’s, and then Ashton Kutcher in his peak in the 2000’s where she made a fiery comeback. Coincidence? I think not. Is it wrong to use sex appeal to climb your way up the corporate ladder? When you’re young can you make more money with your body or your mind? In this day and age have we actually improved from the days of feminism? Or have we taken two steps back?

So I leave you with this musical entertainment an indicator of our societal expectations. Are women just looking for some to pay their Bills, Bills, Bills?