Test retake Tomorrow March th 20 after school

• Test retake: Tomorrow, March th 20 after school

Ch. 4, Section 2: Teenagers and Dating

Dating And Courtship • Many Americans are familiar with dating, however, dating is not a universal thing • Dating: The meeting of people as a romantic engagement • Most common in places where people are free to choose their own partners • Some societies do not allow dating and instead, enforce marriages that are arranged by parents • Dating is relatively new for Americans • Most of history shows that courtship was primarily the way young people interested in marriage interacted • Courtship: Different from dating because its sole purpose is marriage

Dating And Courtship • Dating did not emerge until after WWI • Dating’s main purpose is entertainment and amusement • In modern America, most people meet their eventual spouse through dating • The process of dating is a continuum • Continuum: A coherent whole characterized as a collection, sequence or progression • Steps to the continuum of dating: • 1. Casual dating • 2. Steady dating • 3. Engagement • 4. Marriage

Dating And Courtship • As people move throughout the steps of the continuum, the relationship gets more and more serious. The commitment to the relationship increases as well • Courtship prior to dating was a very strict process • A man had to meet with the parent’s of the woman and get their permission • Courtship always took place within the watchful eye of someone. The couple was never left alone • Marriage was always the end goal • Modern dating comes from this process

The Emergence of Dating • Industrialization helped dating to emerge within America • Agriculture had primarily been the economy within the United States. • It played a huge role with courtship, as well as marriage • This meant parents had a lot of say within their child’s marriage since most men of marrying age waited to get married until their parent’s transferred the land into their name • Throughout the Industrial Revolution,

• Because of this newfound freedom young people had, modern dating as began to take form • Another event that helped modern dating form was the invention of free public secondary education • Public schools had both young men and young women, unlike private schools of the time • This allowed them to interact with

• After WWI, many new developments helped dating to form. • Things like telephones and cars helped young people to feel even more free • The equality women experienced in the 1920’s helped them to enter the workforce and work side by side with men • This allowed much more interaction amongst single men and single women • Dating was turning out to be much more practical than courtship had been

• A study was done in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s on American dating patterns • It took place at Pennsylvania State University and studied the student’s dating habits • He found that casual dating was just something the students did for fun and that it typically did not lead to finding a spouse • He also found that people selected their partners based on things like: popularity, clothing and good looks • This was a contrast from courtship where honesty and dependability were valued

• Findings in the study also found that dating was typically only limited to those in fraternities and sororities • Those in fraternities and sororities dated those who were of similar social status • This means those in what was considered the best fraternity dated members of the best sorority. • Those in the “worst” fraternities and sororities dated one another as well • Women ranked looks, money, clothes, cars and dancing ability as desirable traits

• Later research tended to challenge the study’s findings • Yes, people valued the casual aspect of dating and considered a form of entertainment • However, people also valued character and personality • A lot of the attributes of a partner for casual dating and attributes of a good spouse tended to overlap

Functions of Dating • There are several functions dating serves: • It is a form of entertainment. – It allows people to go out and have fun • It is a form of socialization. – It teaches people how to behave in social situations • It fulfills basic psychological needs – These include things like conversation, companionship and understanding • Dating helps people attain status

Dating Patterns • These can also be considered on a continuum as well Traditional Dating patterns • Typically found in small towns • Dating patterns similar to those of the 40’s and 50’s • Responsibility fell on the man • Both parties knew what was expected of them • Peer pressure guided conformity to the rules • Example: Wednesday is the typical day to ask a girl on a date for Saturday. If a boy asked on a Thursday, the girl would typically reject him • If a girl accepted a date on a Thursday, she was basically accepting the fact that she was not the boy’s first choice

Traditional Dating Patterns • Dating was so expected that if a young person did not have a date for Saturday night, they would hide in their room in shame • Typically the activity of the date was something like a movie or sporting event. This made it so that if the two did not click, they could focus on the activity instead • If the couple continued to date, they would be “going steady”. • The boy usually gave the girl something to identify that she was his girlfriend. These were things like a class ring or a varsity jacket • These couples were not expected to get married and could break up at any time

Contemporary Dating Patterns • Dating today isn’t as strict as it was in the past • Modern dating started in the 1960’s • Today men and women can interact informally with no expectation of dating • Dating is much more equal since both men and women can initiate a date • This is a huge contrast to traditional dating • With traditional dating, the man had to basically “sell himself” to the woman • Today, that is not needed • The world today and all the technology available gives teens more freedom than ever before

Amish Dating Patterns • The lives of Amish teens are completely different from most teenagers in the U. S. • However, despite all the things they have no access to, the Amish date just like high school students • Amish begin to date around 16 • They will typically receive a “courting buggy”, a horse drawn carriage • Formal events are primarily where Amish teens hang out • These are things like weddings, picnics, barn raisings • At events, men sit on side and women on another and they will talk and sing hymns • After this, they will get to mingle with one another. This ends up with the teens pairing off • An Amish boy will offer to take the girl home in his buggy

Amish Dating Patterns • If/when the couple decides to date, they usually will not tell anyone • They will go on dates every week or every other week • When they decide to get married, only then will they tell everyone • The Amish do not believe in divorce so because of that dating is taken very seriously

• On a sheet of loose leaf, answer questions 1 -7 on page 120. You will be turning these in tomorrow for points.