Chapter 8 starts off defining the term dating as the process of meeting people socially for possible mate selection. Sociologists describe the dating process as a marriage market in which participants compare the assets and liabilities of eligible partners and choose the best available mate. Dating fulfills a number of specific functions that vary according to a person’s age, social class, and gender. Dating functions can be either manifest—the purposes are visible, recognized, and intended—or latent—the purposes are unintended or not immediately recognized. The manifest functions of dating include: maturation, fun and recreation, companionship, love and affection, and mate selection. Latent functions of dating include: socialization, social status, fulfillment of ego needs, sexual experiments and intimacy, and big business. The chapter then goes into talking about traditional dating, contemporary dating, and traditional-contemporary combinations. In traditional dating, males and females follow clear, culturally defined gender role scripts. Much of contemporary dating is usually casual and includes hanging out, getting together, and “hooking up”. Several dating patterns incorporate both traditional customs and contemporary trends. Adults use a variety of mate selection methods to meet a potential spouse, including personal classified ads, marriage bureaus, computerized services, and the Internet. The chapter then goes into discussing the filtering theory. According to the filtering theory, we sift eligible people according to specific criteria and thus narrow the pool of potential partners to a small number of canidates. The major filtering mechanism is homogany. Homogany refers to dating or marrying someone with similar social characteristics. Heterogamy refers to dating or marrying someone from a social, racial, ethnic, religious, or age group that is different from one’s own. The chapter then goes into explaining the social and equity theory. The social exchange theory and equity theory suggest that dating partners seek a balance of costs and benefits in a relationship. The relationship is most satisfying when it is seen as egalitarian. Dating is usually fun, but there are also some risks and problems. Women, especially, are often victims of sexual pressure and aggression.
I found reading about consequences of dating and violence and date rape section in this chapter to be quite interesting to read. I learned that most dating violence and date rape occur in situations that seem safe and familiar. This is why these behaviors often come as a great shock to the victim. It was interesting to read about Chris Brown and Rihanna. Chris Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna. He now serves five years of probation and has 180 days of community service.
The question that I have is that rape with women is always talked about, but do you think we look too much at women and don’t give enough attention to the men that get rapped?
Maria Nicholas
I feel that the reason more attention is placed on women is because it occurs much more frequently as compared to men. However, I also feel that we should place more attention on the men that are raped as well because they are going through the same (if not worse) scenario that the women are going through. They were not only disgustingly degraded by being raped, they are probably also much more afraid to report it due to how our culture would react with scorn that they weren't able to defend themselves. But yes, I do agree that more attention should be focused on the men that are raped, but also the women should not lose our attention as well.
ReplyDelete--Bonnie Noel
I agree with Bonnie in that the reason for the discussion of rape centering around women is because of the reported prevelance of men raping women is higher. Nevertheless I agree that discussions of men and rape needs to be facilitated more often and on a broader stage. Something interesting to check out might be an episode of Oprah where she discusses the topic of men who have been molested.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.oprah.com/showinfo/A-Two-Day-Oprah-Show-Event-200-Men-Who-Were-Molested-Come-Forward_1
-Ali Mosser