Dating Is So Overrated: A History
Or also known as that time I outed myself on the internet over a common societal ritual…
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in possession of a great personality must be in want of a partner.
Or, in words not riffing off Jane Austen and her novel Pride and Prejudice, girls are taught that they must grow up to be the wives and mothers of the world. And what does that require? Courtship — or, in modern terms, dating.
So what’s the big deal? Dating happens all the time. Even in our current pandemic world, people are still firing up their dating apps and having Zoom calls with prospective partners. None of this is new to any of us.
Well…about that…
(DEEP BREATHS, SELF.)
(Give me a moment…)
PHEW. OKAY.
…..
My confession: I’m thirty years old, and I’ve never been on a date.
I know. It’s a shocker. Not because you know me and how lovable I am (since that’s clearly up for debate) — but because dating is so ingrained in our cultural awareness, at least in the United States where I live. Dating is seen as one of those stepping stones you stumble across in your teenage life right after…
