Gender Roles and Date Context in Hypothetical Scripts for a Woman and a Man on a First Date in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

First dates set the tone for future interactions and determine whether such interactions will even occur. Although people may want to showcase their virtues, first date scripts involving a man and a woman reflect traditional gender roles wherein men are expected to be proactive and women, reactive. As gender-based attitudes and roles have begun to change, are hypothetical first date scripts also evolving? Although over 25 years of research on first date scripts suggests that these scripts consistently reflect traditional gender roles, no known study to date has quantitatively compared data collected across temporal cohorts. To address this issue, in 2015 we collected hypothetical first date scripts using a checklist method with North American samples of 756 university students and 821 adults recruited online. People were more likely to endorse egalitarian first date scripts if they were women (adult sample only), describing a date between friends, and if they held less sexist attitudes. To address whether hypothetical first date scripts differ across time, we compared our younger adult sample to data reported by Laner and Ventrone (2000). Results revealed remarkable stability in gender stereotypes but also movement toward more egalitarian ideals. Although gender stereotypes in first date scripts might be weakening, enduring gendered scripts constrain behavior, create unrealistic expectations, and thwart authentic expression of one’s personality.