Monthly Archive for October, 2008

There have been a lot of thought-provoking news bites lately that are relevant to young adults living single.  I’ve compiled a few for your consideration.

Singles Statistics

Which cities are home to the most singles, which might make those cities more likely spots to find a partner?

Rank	Metro	% Single
1	San Francisco, CA	44.7
2	Detroit, MI	44
3	New York, NY	39.8
4	Boston, MA	39.2
5	New Orleans, LA	39.1
6	Los Angeles, CA	37.7
7	Fort Lauderdale, FL	37.2
8	Las Vegas, NV	37
9	Miami, FL	36.9
10	Albuquerque, NM	36.8

But singleton stats alone don’t make for great dating opportunities.  Consider the ratio of males:females, as well as age breaks. (H/T Sullivan).  Women tend to be outnumbered by men in urban areas. . . which means we get to be pickier, since there are fewer women on the dating market.

Ezra Klein points explains the discrepancy and points out a flaw in the data that should shift the blue globes a bit.

The reason for this, basically, is that women marry younger. About 1/3rd of women are married by age 24. Only 1/5th of men are. That creates some imbalance. . . Single, in this definition, is counted as never married, divorced, or widowed, so you’re missing a lot of folks, particularly in the upper ranges, who are on the dating market but not caught in this data.

Since census data was used to crunch data for each of the above breaks, it bears reminding that the census doesn’t factor in homosexuality.  Cities with strong gay communities, like San Francisco, may skew the ratio of available men to women.  This caveat applies for the chart and graphic above.

The Warm and Fuzzies

Looking to make a connection with your date?  Make sure (s)he enjoys a warm beverage with your meal.  Science published the latest in interpersonal relationship influences this week.

In the first study, Williams and John A. Bargh, a psychology professor at Yale University, found that holding a hot cup of coffee leads people to judge a stranger to be a warmer person, in terms of such traits as generosity and kindness, compared with a group of people who held a cup of iced coffee.

Also of note, a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that a woman wearing red inclines men to spend more on a date.

Men said they would spend more money on a woman pictured in red, compared with the same woman wearing a blue shirt. . . On average, wearing red meant a more expensive night out, and in general, a higher rating of attractiveness.

Women appear to be immune to the same color skews.  I’m going to leave the matador/bull analogies to the readers.  As for me, I’m happy to report I wear red well.

Mood-Altering Benefits of Semen

Should a woman make it to the monogamous relationship stage, relying on birth control other than condoms, regular vaginal exposure to semen may have an anti-depressant effect.  The research soon to be published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior concludes:

Semen makes you happy. That’s the remarkable conclusion of a study comparing women whose partners wear condoms with those whose partners don’t.

The study, which is bound to provoke controversy, showed that the women who were directly exposed to semen were less depressed. The researchers think this is because mood-altering hormones in semen are absorbed through the vagina. They say they have ruled out other explanations.

On that note, my round up of (potential) relationship influencers ends.  Will geography matter more with that next job offer?  Will you reconsider what you wear on your next date?  Does “just coffee” now seem more appealing?

Til next time.