Attraction and Dating

This week in class we talked about attraction and dating. Now as a single college girl this seemed to be the most important topic for me to pay attention to. Ha! Kind of kidding. But this was a topic I was genuinely interested in, reason being I want to know why I am attracted to the people that I am. There is an actual science to attraction, and it is proven that people with more symmetrical faces are more attractive but for me personality seems to play a big role. During the initial meeting of a person their physical appearance is the only thing I am relying on for attractiveness, but that person can quickly loose or gain that attractiveness based on what comes out of their mouth. I am attracted to someone who is kind and motivated. Another interesting thing I learned in class this week was that women tend to rate men more attractive after participating in an activity that gets your adrenaline going. For example, there was a study done where some couples were separated and asked to rate pictures of the opposite gender before they rode a roller coaster and after the roller coaster. The women consistently rated the men 2-3 points higher after the roller coaster. I thought that was so interesting and wanted to know why it was that women were the only ones who seemed to be affected by adrenaline. I asked my teacher and his opinion was that because men are told from a young age that they need to control their urges and feelings they have come to realize the effect that certain thigs or activities have on them emotionally and physically. While, for women we are never told those things.

Another topic that was discussed a lot this was dating. Dating is basically nonexistent in this day and age. People tend to skip the casual and fun dating and go straight to the courting or serious dating. That is such a shame because dating is a fun way to prepare for marriage and just get to know people. Another benefit for dating is something that my mom always told me, she would say that “dating is a time for you to find out qualities you like and dislike in a partner”. That is such and important thing that we have lost. We also talked about how The Family: A Proclamation to the World goes hand and hand with dating. Firstly, a date is something that is PLANNED, PAID FOR, and PAIRED OFF. The three main roles for men as stated in the proclamation are PROVIDER, PRESIDER, and PROTECTOR. When a date is planned for the guy is practicing presiding over a family by planning and conducting wholesome activities. When a date is paid for a guy is practicing being the provider for the family by providing the tools and resources necessary to have an enjoyable date getting to know the other person. Lastly and in my opinion the most important is that a guy is practicing being a protector when a date is paired off. When a date is paired off the guy knows exactly who he is responsible for, not only physically but also spiritually. We talked about it being the guys responsibility to make sure his date is comfortable and that he is only putting them in situations where the spirit can be present. And finally, the ladies role. In the proclamation it states that the primary responsibility for women is to nurture. By allowing men to fulfill these roles and responsibilities we are nurturing their ordained roles.

Dating is a fun thing that plays an important role in relationships and family systems, so my goal for you this week is to go on one date and let me know what you learned about that person and most importantly if you had fun!