Browsing by Subject "Dating"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Gay men's dating preferences
    (2008-08) Chan, Cara; Sharp, Elizabeth A.
    The present study examined young gay men’s dating preferences. In particular, the exploration of the importance of appearance in the dating lives of young gay men and desired characteristics of an ideal romantic partner for 114 young gay men. Using multiple regressions, it was found that gay men in larger metropolitan cities/areas are more likely to value good looks more so than gay men in small metropolitan areas. Results also yielded that young gay men who self-objectify more may want a commitment ceremony more than men who do not. Objectification theory was used in conjunction with Marriage Market Theory, and Erikson’s psychosocial developmental stage of intimacy vs. isolation to gain a better understanding of the dating preferences of young gay men.
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    "I'm sorry this hasn't been a fairy tale" : examining romance reality TV through The bachelor
    (2011-05) Hernandez, Virginia Rose; Sherry, Alissa René; O'Brien, Jodi
    Romance reality programming has become a major player in the television field, with the most successful shows garnering huge ratings and massive audiences over the course of numerous seasons. But while the concept of finding love in a competitive environment on the national stage is new, romance reality TV programs seem to regenerate outdated stereotypes which work in a retrograde fashion to envisage love in traditional, pre-feminist heteronormative and patriarchal structures. Combining a background of literature on reality TV which gives insight to the manipulative tendencies of the industry; feminist scholarship on the acculturating and indoctrinating nature of classic fairy tales; and writings on the prevalence of postfeminist ideology that emphasizes self-surveillance/subjectification, the rhetoric of self-empowerment, and natural differences between the sexes, this thesis examines one of the most ubiquitous romance reality shows, The bachelor. Through the lens of nine tropes--beauty, passivity, marriage, victimization, vilification, romance rhetoric, gender roles, consumerism, and the male gaze--I analyze a full season of episodes, tallying the occurrences in each category. Using these tally numbers as general indicators and providing examples of each theme, I argue that the lessons conveyed to audiences by The bachelor and other romance reality programs bear a striking resemblance to classic fairy tales morals in which positive outcomes for heroines directly correlate to their perceived femininity, including conventionally feminine virtues like physical beauty, moral turpitude, and adherence to normative gender roles. The presence of postfeminism in the media contributes to making these outdated fairy tales themes seem congruent with female agency and empowerment by uncritically casting the failure to find love as a personal one. At the same time, men are placed in advantageous positions of authority and power, affirming the inevitability and desirability of patriarchal relationship arrangements.
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    Relationship initiation and progression in the online matchmaking environment : phenomenology, idealistic distortion, and alternative dating partners
    (2010-05) Steffek, Lisa Marie; Loving, Timothy J.; Jacobvitz, Deborah; Anderson, Edward; Gleason, Marci; Li, Norman
    With the capacity to connect millions of singles through the virtual world, online matchmaking has altered the traditional, face-to-face romantic relationship initiation process. Users of online matchmaking sites have easy access to thousands of available singles and can communicate with partners before ever meeting face-to-face. Specific mechanisms by which online matchmaking environments operate are likely to distort both users’ appraisals of other users and users’ appraisals of themselves. This phenomenon in dating has left researchers to speculate about the effectiveness of romantic relationship initiation in such a context, and for relationships that are successfully formed online, whether the effects of online matchmaking extend beyond the relationship initiation process to influence the subsequent progression of romantic relationships. Seventy-five single men and women were recruited and agreed to subscribe to the online matchmaking site Match.com for 30 days. Participants completed measures assessing their individual background characteristics, sociosexual orientation, personality and attachment. In the event that participants scheduled a first date with someone they met through Match.com, they completed pre and post-date measures assessing idealistic distortion of, attention to, and ease of finding alternative dating partners. Upon completion of their 30 days in the study, participants completed a follow-up questionnaire assessing the degree to which they idealistically distorted themselves to other users and their overall satisfaction and experience using Match.com. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the more users’ distorted the vitality and attractiveness of dating partners the less likely users were to experience a second date initiated by the dating partner. Future studies need to consider that traditional models of relationship initiation are out-dated and not applicable to the study of relationship initiation and progression in the context of online matchmaking. Relationship researchers need to investigate: gender differences in filtering potential partners, the function of filtering in such a context, the developmental progression of filtering and the subsequent potential heightened importance of physical attraction verses the importance of compatibility in predicting relationship initiation in the online matchmaking environment. Additionally, future research should involve comparisons of various matchmaking services’, should utilize larger sample sizes and should follow participants for a longer period of time.
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    Shared reality in courtship : does it matter for marital success?
    (2011-05) Wilson, April Christine; Huston, Ted L.; Loving, Timothy; Gleason, Marci; Neff, Lisa; Vangelisti, Anita
    This study provides evidence that individuals who share similar experiences that are grounded in the actual features of the courtship are likely to remain married over 13 years later. Using logistic regression and path analyses to examine 168 married partners, results support previous research suggesting that “enduring dynamics” best predicts the developmental pathway for couples who remain married, whereas “disillusionment” prefigures marital instability. Specifically, findings revealed that marriages are more likely to be stable when premarital partners (a) feel similar depths of love for one another, (b) move toward marriage at comparable rates over the course of the courtship, and when feelings of (c) love and (d) ambivalence reflect how frequently they experience conflict and downturns in their estimations of the likelihood of marriage. Gender differences and exceptions to this pattern are discussed.