1. You can’t put a timeline on a relationship, and there’s no telling when exclusivity is right for you, but according to a
study from Lisa Daily, most couples get into an “exclusive” relationship after 6 to 8 dates.
2. Singledom is inertia. According to a commonly cited statistic from Neil Clark Warren, over half of people who
report their
relationship status as “single” say they haven’t been on a date in two
years. There’s potentially a reason for this. When polled, 40% of men
say that they are “scared” when first interacting with a potential mate.
3. Deciding whether you want to be in a relationship with someone is a
protracted, often excruciating process of tests and feats of physical
strength, like Heracles’ labors or a holiday at home with your parents.
However, knowing whether you want to have sex with someone is much
simpler.
4. They say that most of communication is non-verbal, and “they” are
right. Most women (57%) said that their first impressions of a guy are
based off of his body language and self-presentation. Just 38% judged
him on how he speaks and a low 7% cared about what he actually said. So,
basically, women and men aren’t that different after all.
5. Of course, body type matters in attracting a mate, but being “too
skinny” counts against you much less than being overweight. Although
overweight people are viewed highly unfavorably
(even among Children),
people are more likely to ascribe positive characteristics to skinny
people. According to Victoria Zdrock, they are often seem as
“intelligent,” although “fearful,” as if every thin person were Woody
Allen.
6. Although cultural norms suggest that men should always do the
asking, Match.com polling reports that 91% of men who use the site are
comfortable with a woman asking them out. Suck on that, patriarchy.
7. As far as who pays, Match suggests that increasing amounts of
Americans are eschewing the traditional rule that the man pays for the
first date. Between 2010 and 2012, the number of people who said that
whoever did the asking should do the paying shot up from 21% to 32%, a
50% increase in just two years.
8. During the same time period, women were increasingly initiating
nookie — because, hey, they’re horny, too. In 2010, just over a third of
women said that they would make the first move, but last year, almost
half reported taking that initial baby step.
9. According to Victoria Zdrock (aka Dr. Z), women said that ten of
their biggest turn-offs were farting/burping, unkempt cuticles, nose
hair, bad taste in eyeglasses, bad hair, acne, “man boobs” and when
their date is missing a tooth. However, Betty White is missing a lot of
teeth and seems to be doing fine, so I guess it’s not transferrable
across age and gender.
10. In more gender fuckery, women are more likely than men to say
that they need independence in a relationship. Women report much higher
needs of personal space, with 93% saying its very important to them,
compared to 81% of men. While 63% of men say that they need their own
finances in a serious relationship, a much higher 77% of women affirm
that they want to keep those bank accounts separate.
11. Should a couple break up, the
average breakup time is
between the three and five month period, when things are just starting
to get serious. Most breakups are announced on a Monday, because what
could be worse than going back to work, amirite?
12. If you date online, you can often expect to break up online. According to the
Match singles, 48% of their breakups took place over email. Luckily, though, only 5% of total breakups occurred over text message.
13. Although you can meet someone just about anywhere, workplace
relationships have a strangely high success rate — if your goal is to
put a ring on it. Around 40% of romances that start at the water cooler
result in marriage. So make sure to wear that freakum dress to your next
office party ladies.
14. Men often say that they like the natural look on a woman, but they’re dirty fucking liars. A memorable segment on
Girl Code
argued that “natural”
