Historical Overview on Dating

Dating is a practice that is influenced by time period, social conditions and constructs, cultural norms, and institutional structures that surrounds people.

In the years 1920's to 1945, dating involved a more informal dating than ever before. For the first time there were no chaperones on dates between males and females. The dates required no formal commitment to each other and there was more freedom. Instead of the man coming to the women’s house, they went “out”.

Before the 1920's going dancing was a group activity but now it became couple oriented. The access to cars had a huge impact on dating practices. Having a car now enabled couples to have more privacy and intimacy. The practice of "petting" spread over all the dating couples now more than ever and there were even "petting" parties.

In the year 1950, the average age for a male marrying was 22 and for a female 20. This is because dating activities began at a much lower age, in junior high dating was common. The youth that did not go to college married soon after graduation, and after one to two years of courtship. If woman did go to college, they were seen as having only one goal, to "land" a man or getting their “MRS” degree.

From the 1960's to the present there have been some drastic changes in the dating. Feminism had a big impact on dating rituals. Women were now empowered more than ever to think of themselves not as just a wife but also a human being. Between the years 1960 to 1972 the amount of women in colleges greatly increased. The youth culture also began to develop a more liberal attitude towards pre-marital sex. Birth control was now very common for couples to have. The pill went on the market in 1960 and within three years more than 2 million American women were using it. The average first intercourse was now at age 16 for males and age 17 for females. In the year 1980 it was reported that 80 percent of males and 65 percent of females have engaged in pre-marital sex. By the year 1988, the age of first marriages was now 25.9 male and 23.6 females.

In the 1970's and 1980's dating changed and the following ways: there was a greater opportunity for informal opposite sex interaction, dating became less formal, and there was no longer a set progression of stages from first meeting to marriage. The dating system has become more pluralistic over time.

Dating is a practice that is highlighted again and again in the popular media. Dating is affected by our cultural norms of the time and place. Sociologists look at a particular time and place to understand the ways in which a society works and therefore how the people in that society go about activities like dating.

Dating at a young age is characterized as fun and is done for companionship rather than as a serious activity for the purpose of finding a lifelong mate. Sociologists claim that in the current generation of college students this lack in interest in serious dating is a reflection of seeing their parents and friends' parents’ divorce. Relationships were another source of concern for students. Nearly one-third of all college freshmen grew up with one or no parent. Male controlled media have enhanced an environment in which to define women as sex objects. Men and women today in college are moving away from intimacy into group dating as a result of seeing their parents' generation marriages end in divorce. The Purpose of marriage has shifted from economic necessity to companionship, resulting in dramatic changes in obligations and expectations.

Pornography and sex shops have influence dating as well. Pornography and sex shops grew and appeared more frequently in cities. Images of sex became more visible to all people including children. This resulted in an increase of the number of people having premarital sex, and forming serious relationships earlier in life.

The Internet has created a new place and new way for people to meet others and interact. It has become a place for casual sex and a place to meet lifetime partners. It is also a place of gender, and personality bending fantasy, where people can pretend to be whoever they please. These are just a few of the changes that affected the way people go about meeting their mate, and how they interact with them. Dating habits are always changing over time, but one can see how the many social aspects in our lives are linked.

The history of dating, the automobile had a large effect on the way girls and boys interacted romantically. They were no longer subjected to the supervision of parents, and they became more comfortable with sexuality as they were allowed more mobility after World War I. Not all women were staying home, they were able to get out and work alongside the men. The invention of television presented models of how to go on dates for adolescent teens. Dresses got shorter, there was more freedom, and the generation of kids beginning to date took advantage as petting got heavier, and relationships were more serious before marriage than they ever have been. In the 1960's the controversial birth control pill became available to women. This allowed couples to have sexual intercourse without fearing a teenage pregnancy. With the introduction of birth control, and the more common use of illegal drugs, casual sex was becoming more common. The summer of love was famous for people having multiple partners and experiencing "free love." This also meant a sexual revolution for Gay rights.

(Consuelo Rosales GG)