Dating Survey #1

I asked 100 people to answer a survey about their dating habits. All responses were anonymous and the people who took the survey were asked the following questions (some questions were short answer while others were multiple choice):

1. Are you male or female?
2. How old are you?
3. Please state sexual orientation and relationship status.
4. Would you ever ask a guy/girl out on a date? Or would you wait for them to approach you?
5. What are you physically and emotionally looking for in a partner?
6. What is your opinion on casual sexual relationships (friends with benefits)?
7. How long do you wait to have sex with someone you are dating?
8. What features about yourself do you think men/women are most attracted to?
9. Have you ever cheated on a boyfriend or girlfriend?
10. What are common stereotypes you agree or disagree with?

Fifty-five women took the survey and forty-five men took the survey. The most common age group was 18-25. The oldest person who took the survey was a 46 year old male. Out of the women who surveyed, only 5% of them considered themselves anything other than straight. Three of them identified as bisexual while two women considered themselves to be lesbians. 64% of people who took the survey said they were in a relationship.

When it came to breaking down the answers of the questions regarding dating, men and women answered the questions very differently than one another. 70% of women said that they would wait for someone to approach them and not take the initiative to ask someone on a date. On the other hand, all of the males who answered the survey said they would approach someone. When asked about casual sex relationships, or friends with benefits relationships, 85% of women responded with the answer choice "it works for other people, but not for me." When men were asked the same question, 90% of them chose the answer choice "I am fine with them." In regards to dating, the last question I asked was if they had ever cheated on a boyfriend or girlfriend. Almost 40% of women answered that they have indeed had sexual relationships with someone other than their boyfriend at the time. Surprisingly, only 15% of males said that they have cheated in a relationship.

I threw in some questions about people's perceptions about themselves and their believed perceptions of what males and females thought of them. When asked the question "what features about yourself do you think a male/female is most attracted to?", 79% of women said something regarding their outward appearance (ie: smile, hair, butt, boobs, etc.). In retrospect, 70% of males said something about their personality (ie: sense of humor, romantic, etc.).

I also asked participants to answer questions about their take on common stereotypes of men and women. I asked them to list the stereotypes they agreed with and the stereotypes they disagreed with. Although it does not necessarily relate to dating, most men said "women cannot drive" as a stereotype they agree with. The streotypes they disagreed with were "men always cheat" and "men don't listen." Women mostly agreed with the stereotype that "men are less emotional" and disagreed with the stereotype that "women complain too much."

Ultimately, my findings show that men and women both have very different views on the opposite sex and their approaches to dating. Whether this is caused by socialization through peers or through the media or something else is completely up in the air. I was actually surprised by many of the percentages and am glad that so many people answered all the questions (only one question was left with "No Answer").



-A. Merchant