planning mode
dating scene
How often do we discuss with our friends the type of person we’re looking for when it comes to being attracted to the opposite sex? Whether male or female, we quickly go through our mental check-list; their nationality, height, weight, type of career, bank account, physical attributes and what kind of car they drive–going on and on, blah, blah, blah.
I believe that our culture primarily dictates what we are attracted to when it comes to the opposite sex. When we are younger, we think we already know what we want our perfect mate to look like, but as we get older and venture out of our comfort ‘cultural zone’ it changes; maybe by the type of high schools we attend, then college if some of us decide to further our education and finally in our daily work lives which often spills into our social time.
When I was in high school, it was the bad boys. Then when I entered college it was the cool guys and athletes. But as I started working in corporate America, my ideal man changed. He had to be tall, handsome of course and either a corporate executive or a business owner, but more importantly, he had to be wearing a thin pinstripe or dark blue suit. I even had a crush on Al Bundy (Married with Children) because in one of the episodes, he sported a very expensive blue suit. Bizarre – yes, but very true.
But then my creative side started blooming and I became interested in music and writing. With the music I started going to more jazz clubs and open-mikes and with the writing, I networked with other writers and went to poetry readings. Once again my taste buds changed and I quickly became attracted to the artsy type. You know the kind; the dreamy musician, the forbidden drummer, the creative writer, the emotionally driven poet, and the dark and brooding artist.
Fortunately, I’m more mature these days and I realize that I can no longer afford to be choosey when it comes to the type of men I will date. Don’t get me wrong there are still things I must have like; good hygiene, a sense of humor, personality plus, goal oriented and spirituality enlightened.
But just like playing sports, the competition when it comes to dating is fierce and if you’re a woman, that narrows the field. We can’t help to be reminded by the media and magazine surveys that the pickings are slim. And to be honest do we really want to limit ourselves to one specific type? I don’t think we should. So instead of limiting yourselves to a specific type, why not widen your taste to include all sizes and nationalities along with blue collar, white collar and even black collar types. Think of dating as you would think of food. We have such a wide variety of choices from Continental to Indian or Thai, to Southern to Japanese or Chinese. Why should dating be any different?
Courtesy: Sheilah Brooks
