Early Upload: A History of Dating (Patreon)

How has dating in America changed over time? How has the quest for companionship been shaped by technology, capitalism, and trends? From personal ads to astrology to singles bars to dating apps to artificial intelligence... is the future of dating ugly? Also...is "having a boyfriend embarrassing now"? Enjoy this early upload! It won't be available on youtube until Monday, November 24.

Sources & Further Reading

Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (JohnD'Emilio)

Matrimony, Inc.: From Personal Ads to Swiping Right, a Story of America Looking for Love (Francesca Beauman)

https://www.cowgirlmagazine.com/busy-bee-club/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24497074?seq=1

https://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/the-history/how-prohibition-changed-american-culture/dating-during-prohibition/

https://www.scribd.com/document/258470454/Men-as-Success-Objects-and-Women-as-Sex-Objects

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2012-24856-005.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/02/movies/film-the-dos-and-don-ts-of-the-doo-wop-age.html

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4535297

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2017-10-25/umass-lowell-historian-on-sexual-harassment-in-the-lowell-mills

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24049411

https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2020/12/102797880-05-01-acc.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20160310071435/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1965/11/3/operation-match-pif-you-stop-to/?page=1

https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2020/12/102797880-05-01-acc.pdf

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/11/693668143/what-computer-dating-looked-like-when-we-first-reported-on-it-in-1971

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/29/style/operation-match-patsy-jeff-tarr/index.html

https://www.economist.com/1843/2020/04/16/before-tinder-there-was-dateline

https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/29/us/law-bar-legal-preserve-opening-its-door-personal-ads-search-for-romance-profits.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/02/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/12/AR2007051201350.html?hpid=topnews

https://www.newsweek.com/belief-watch-eharmonys-algorithm-mr-right-86273

https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/consumer_news/20140817_Dating_site_dinged_for_exaggerating_claims_of_success.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-flaws-online-dating-sites/

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/business/computing-the-mysteries-of-attraction.html

https://www.jstor.org/stable/23484637

https://ushist2112honors.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/bailey-courtship.pdf

https://www.vogue.com/article/is-having-a-boyfriend-embarrassing-now

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/singles-news-1970s-personal-ads-dating

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/09/28/golden-era-traditional-marriage-was-never-what-conservatives-thought/

https://www.nybooks.com/online/2013/02/09/personals/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-02-28/at-christianmingle-and-jdate-gods-your-wingman

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/fashion/27dating.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

http://www.omarwasow.com/Stanford_Magazine_04.pdf

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2503.17473

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/fashion/27dating.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/your-ai-lover-will-change-you

https://www.vox.com/22262353/great-expectations-history-video-dating-vcr-apps

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/personal-ads-american-west

https://screenrant.com/bruce-lee-western-role-here-come-brides-explained/

https://middletemplar.org.uk/an-american-anachronism-the-heart-balm-torts/

https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2022/06/05/digging-for-dinner/

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/how-t-g-i-fridays-helped-invent-the-singles-bar

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/media/Files/Reports/2006/PIP_Online_Dating.pdf.pdf

https://time.com/archive/6903952/is-eharmony-biased-against-gays/

https://medium.com/@aileenaquinn/you-need-to-talk-about-your-ethnicity-filter-an-open-letter-to-hinge-b7641e0f2e26

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/05/magazine/ai-chatbot-marriage-love-romance-sex.html

https://www.newspapers.com/image/771008524/

https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/what-real-about-human-ai-relationships

https://historylink.org/file/1125

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/08/20/public-attitudes-about-todays-dating-landscape/

https://wordinblack.com/2024/05/will-ai-change-how-black-women-date/

https://www.thecut.com/2014/09/new-okcupid-data-on-race-is-pretty-depressing.html

https://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/business/leonhardt.pdf