Sex and Politics

The world has changed a lot in 2020. Dating has changed with it. Women once gauged potential mates using age-old standards: height, weight, age, and career status. The prime example is where some women would only date men taller than 6ft. All others were swiped left.

While perusing through online dating sites the other day*, I noticed that profiles were now including political affiliation. I also noticed that I would swipe left based on political affiliation alone. It was the thing I looked at first and all the dating sites knew it. Further, most men in their profiles made it clear that they would only date someone who shared their political views.

In the past year, there’s been a lot of strain on relationships. In April through June, there were a lot of people moving in and out of my building. The explanation from management? Relationships. People were breaking up. My married friends were going through some difficult times and a few other friends announced an end to long-term relationships.

And new relationships were forming. People were getting married and engaged. A jeweler expressed that the fall season is generally a busy time for engagement rings. However, this fall season was especially busy. I suppose that if you can get through 2020 with someone, that person is a keeper.

This all makes sense. Our perspective on the world is a very personal thing. And 2020 has shown that differing perspectives can be extremely polarized. What we believe politically has defined our behavior to a great extent this year. It has defined whether we isolate. It has defined whether we step out of our homes and when. It has defined whether we protest and, most importantly, what we are protesting about. And now it has defined our choices in partners. We now ask our potential mates, “What do you believe?”