Are You 'Empowered' In Your Dating Life?

Good news for all the single ladies (and quite frankly, the entire population) – dating double standards are on the decline, at least according to a new study. The research found that British women are becoming increasingly ‘empowered’ when it comes to their love lifes; showing more independence, confidence and loyalty than men…

In a bid to discover the latest dating trends, PartyCasino surveyed 2,000 singletons across the UK – and the results show just how outdated the Bridget Jones stereotype really is. It was actually the men in the study who were more anxious to be permanently dating and to progress quickly in their relationships, whilst women appeared to be more patient, secure and comfortable setting standards on their quest to find The One.

Men and women surveyed were almost equally as likely to date multiple people at once (18% and 17%, respectively), however they appeared to have different incentives – a quarter of men said they were aiming to have sex with their dates within a week of meeting, compared to just a tenth of women. In fact, a third of women said they’d dumped a guy they liked because he pursued sex too soon.
 

​This power shift was also apparent when it came to the question of who pays the bill – while 62% of men were still happy to pay for everything on a first date, 85% of women said they always insist on paying for themselves.

Interestingly, there was also a notable difference as to who men and women look to date and where they let their guard down: over a quarter of men would happily date a colleague, whereas only a fifth of women agreed; with the majority preferring to keep their professional and personal lives separate. Seemingly always on the hunt of a date, men were also twice as likely to actively look for potential love interests on public transport (10%) and sports clubs (8%) as women (4%).

Women, on the hand, appeared to be much more comfortable in their own skin and happy to be single: 66% said they’d never go back to an ex and risk making the same percent; 27% said they don’t actively look for dates (compared to just 19% of men); plus, women were also comfortable to wait twice as long as men to start dating following a serious breakup, with the average man wanting to bag themselves a #NewBae within three months compared to a, more reflective, six months for women.

It doesn’t stop there… While rom-coms may have you believe it’s always women pressuring for commitment, in reality it seems men are the guilty ones – while the fairer sex wanted to put on the breaks. Men were more likely to push for new partners to meet their parents in the first month of dating (27% compared to 19% of women); and a third of men wanted to go on holiday together within three months, compared to just a fifth of women.

Jumping the gun also appeared to be a one-way ticket to being dumped. The average man wanted to move in together within six months and get married within a year, compared to the average woman’s ideal 16 months before moving in and 26 months before marriage – and indeed, the research suggests that men jumping the gun on the biggest decisions of them all, discovering that a third of men want to move in together within six months (29%) and get married – and if those timelines don’t match up? Almost a quarter of women said they’d split up with their partner if they wanted to move in together too soon, and a third said they’d end things if their other half proposed too soon.

And while the study found women were three times as likely to stay loyal in a relationship, that doesn’t mean they’re being walked over – women were 20% more likely to say they’d have no second thoughts about dumping a cheating partner.

Proof girl power is more alive and well than ever.