Gender Roles In Romantic Dating

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Among emerging young adults, romantic dating relationships has become a much more elusive and complex process. Throughout the course of this paper, age groups varying from teenagers to adults will be considered men and women. Gender roles examine the nature of dating today and determine whether the current dating normality’s and practices of young adolescents have progressed. Over the time of years, dating has become an extremely wide approach to young adults. Each is accustomed to their own role in dating, by the gender one identifies with. A gender role, accordingly, means a set of societal norms dictating types of behaviors whom which are generally considered acceptable based on a perceived sex and/or sexuality. The importance of the cultural …show more content…
Like many modern social traditions, dating had its origins in the post-Industrial revolution. At that time, a term known as “calling” was closely monitored by the family and community, and took place in the bachelorette’s home. In the first decade of the twentieth century, men would call the home of the women they were interested in. Kathleen Bogle, author of Hooking Up, explains “it was considered important for the men to spend time with the women’s family, especially her mother” (12). This showed a sign of respect and made effort for the man to continue coming back since women and their mothers controlled the practice of calling. During the “calling era” only the women and her mother were allowed to negotiate the coming of the boy. A typical visit among them consisted of spending time in the woman’s parlor, where the woman might have played the piano for entertainment. On special occasions both the men and women would be given some degree of privacy for a short time in the visit, particularly if the women’s mother knew her daughter really liked the man. However, courtship encounters were soon overtook by men’s increased access to automobiles and women’s increasing role to the public. These changes moved dating from the home to public locations, such as movie theaters, dance halls, and …show more content…
In a report by The Huffington Post, a 1922 article from The Miami News stated that the police department cited the leading causes of Miami car accidents, the first one being “driving with one hand, holding girl with other,” while a banner read “police have suggestions how motor accidents may be reduced; ‘don’t hold your girl and drive’” (Headline from The Miami News in 1922). This ad may be seen as humorous, but in reality it can also be seen as men being too touchy and focused on the women rather than on the road. Showing off accommodates the role of the men in automobiles as well; automobiles just became extinguished, and for men to drive around with a women they fancied meant the real deal. This is not different in today’s generation. A majority of men are too preoccupied in their cars that they constantly want to “be better” or show off to people that they indeed have a nice car. If a woman knew a man had a nice car that was well maintained, she would probably feel more special in a sense that he took time for her. By the mid-1920’s, going on dates had become a universal custom for men and women in the United States. Despite the fact that dating was no longer the direct path to marriage that it once was, nor is dating the only, or even primary, type of initial romantic encounter young singles engage in

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