Oz Dating

I can understand how the economy might affect our relationships and courting behaviour. If you don't have any money to spare you can't pay for a date, after all! But I can't quite accept the idea that what is considered sexually attractive can be linked so specifically to the state of a nations' economy - which is the theory described in this article. 

The evidence supporting the theory - changes in the appearance of the most popular naked models in Playboy magazine over time - strikes me as a bit spurious also. I doubt that the women's measurements were an accurate reflection of what men of a particular era found generally attractive.

Firstly, Playboy caters to a particular demographic - in much the same way that Hustler caters to another one. Also, while lots of men got to choose from a certain number of models, those models were chosen in the first place by only a few men. The options were limited to begin with, and were therefore not truly representative. 

Roberta Williams's ex-husband Carl Williams is one of Australia's most notorious criminals. The Melbourne drug lord murdered several people and is now in jail for life.

Roberta herself is free, and has vowed to stay on the straight and narrow. And she's just become romantically involved with another bloke. But it turns out that he too has a dark, criminal past. Seems she just can't stay away from that kind of man.

Here's an intriguing story with a romantic theme: An attractive Sydney woman claims she met a handsome young man in a city cafe. She was instantly smitten but he suddenly disappeared, leaving his jacket. But he left such an impression on her that she decided to launch an internet campaign to find him featuring his jacket.

If you think it sounds a bit too corny to be true, then you're not the only one. There is a theory that the whole thing is a clever publicity stunt engineered by the company that made the jacket.

Online dating is now so popular that there are people who make a living out of rewriting the profiles of singles to make them as attractive as possible.

There's also a professional service designed to make your profile photo stand head and shoulders above the rest. 

I posted earlier about how the speed dating concept has been used for purposes other than matching up singles.

And here's another application: Time poor parents are using it to find suitable babysitters for their kids.

There are many shocking murders committed daily. Most are reported in a pretty brief and matter of fact way in the media.

But if sex is involved, coverage is more thorough. This trend increases if a beautiful young woman is the victim. And if she's one of the accused, well, the courthouse is teeming with journalists! Which is why this murder trial, involving a gorgeous young student named Amanda Knox ("Foxy Knoxy") will be covered in meticulous detail throughout. 

It's fascinating how the economy influences people's behaviour on so many different levels including their relationships. And then there's a subsequent effect back on the economy, since businesses will spring up to cater to the needs of individuals whose lives have been affected!

Take the recent resources boom in Australia. Since so many men from cities such as Perth spend long periods away in the mines they find it hard to maintain relationships. Consequently they need to meet single women who are happy with the periods of separation that such a lifestyle creates. A dating service called Meet a Mining Man has been created to bring these two new demographic groups together.

The online dating industry contains many niches. One of the more controversial ones caters to people who are looking for affairs only.

Understandably, many people are appalled by the very thought of such sites. But the owner of Ashley Madison - which is one of the most successful websites of this kind - doesn't accept the argument that he's engaged in an immoral enterprise. On the contrary, he believes that his matchmaking service preserves more marriages than it ends. 

Hugh Hefner has long been criticized for his hedonistic lifestyle and antiquated attitudes to women. The latest story about him will only confirm his image as utterly shallow, self indulgent and sexist.

One of his harem has described how she had a very perfunctory relationship with him, and even had to sneak out of the Playboy Mansion to satisfy her sexual urges.

By her account the pretty blondes involved with Hefner have a very limited and frustrating life. Not surprisingly, he benefits heavily from the very unequal relationships he maintains. Look at the photo of him in the story. The 82 year old looks like he has discovered the fountain of youth!

When using dating sites, people naturally try to present the best image in their profile photos. So they often use snaps that are out of date, or not representative of their real appearance somehow. This can lead to people who do end up meeting them for a date being disappointed.

A new dating site called Down to Earth is attempting to overcome this unfortunate syndrome with a system called "RealRatings", in which members of the site get to say whether the person's photo is an accurate representation of them or not.

I can see it being abused. What if someone who met a member and didn't like them for some reason other than their appearance might say it's not representative in an attempt to ruin that person's chances for finding someone else? And there are those who may claim to have met the person but never did who just want to get at them somehow. It's a sad fact that lots of people enjoy doing such things just for the hell of it!

Still, it's an interesting and original approach. And it might work well for most users.