Is the Modern Dating Game Biased against Men?
‘You need to be a gentleman but not a Nice Guy.’
‘You have to let her be independent but still be there as a shoulder to lean on.’
‘You can’t be too aggressive, but you also need to be daring because women find that sexy.’
These are among the many things that people usually tell guys when they’re dating. Are they innocent advice from well-meaning friends? Or is there a system in place when it comes to modern romance that is inherently biased against men?
Let’s take a closer look.
Women’s expectations have changed.
Although it’s still an ongoing argument whether or not women’s standards when it comes to relationships are now much higher because of things like feminism and gender equality, it’s hard to deny that these standards have changed.
What men used to rely on to guide them in love and dating are now different, and there even seems to be a steep learning curve for adapting to these differences, especially for the guys.
Modern beauty standards now are crazy.
Of course, we know that at the end of the day, looks and personality play equally important roles.
However, it still doesn’t change the fact that pop culture and entertainment media have placed high criteria for what makes everyone look great and desirable — and it’s definitely not just for the women.
Men are also pressured into going to the gym to buff up or adopt certain fashion trends to look like whoever is Hollywood’s newest Action Hero of the Month.
The problem with these standards is that they’re most likely unrealistic or difficult to achieve. But still, some women seriously consider them when looking for a partner, which makes it all the more difficult for men to get noticed.
Men are often stereotyped.
It’s no secret that with the rise in popularity of feminist views and pro-women advocacies, some men are getting the short end of the stick.
Even if certain gender issues occur on a case-to-case basis or even affect only a particular group of men, many people generalize these matters and automatically blame all the men of the world.
This makes it harder for guys to set themselves apart from widespread negative opinion on their gender and even more challenging to do it during the initial stage of dating.
I don’t know about you, but I believe it’s more stressful for men to make a good first impression today than it’s ever been at any point in the past.
It’s hard to strike a balance.
Because of all these changes in how society expects men to talk and behave, there’s now a fine line for them between acting on their desires and keeping things on a tighter leash to avoid offending the women they want to pursue.
It may not necessarily mean that modern dating practices and expectations are biased against men or setting them up to fail, but there does seem to be more-complex rules now that men need to navigate in order to join and score a few points in this social maze we love to call the ‘dating game’.
