Tinder asks users about dating dos and don’ts, rewriting dating rules...

Unspoken dating rules have defined much of modern dating. It’s 2021, but dating still has traditional rules and gender expectations. “Who should make the first move, who decides when to meet, who should text after the first date, should women play hard to get?”

Wouldn’t it be great if we could go back to the drawing board and rewrite these rules, get rid of the dos and don’ts, and just date in our own way?

Tinder and actress/screenwriter Sainee Raj came together to explore what age-old conditioning means for women, how men are meant to have ‘game’ and women are so easily ‘slut shamed’. Through spoken word, Raj addresses her own conditioning, why consent is important, and how dating is just about two equals.

Tinder also ran an Instagram poll on its channel, which revealed much about how Gen Z feels about these ‘rules’. Seventy-eight per cent of the women polled feel they need to follow these rules, and 70 per cent feel they are expected to follow them. Seventy-six per cent still believe they will be judged for showing interest too soon!

But who influences these rules? Apparently, 52 per cent believe it’s societal, with “log kya kahenge” still being a worry, 48 per cent believe the good old romantic comedies (rom-coms) have set expectations. Eventually, 90 per cent of the women polled want to rewrite their rules and date in their own way.

Here are the Instagram poll results on how women feel about expectations around dating.

1. Girls, do you feel dating has these unspoken rules that you need to follow?

Yes 👀 (78%) | Not really 🤷🏻♀️ (22%)

2. Do you feel you’re expected to follow these rules? 🤔

Most of the time 🙄(70%) | Never 🙅🏻♀️ (30%)

3. Like when it comes to ‘shooting your shot’, you’d...

Wait for them to⏳ (48%)| Shoot my shot 🔥 (52%)

4. Do you feel like you’re expected to ‘dress appropriately’ on dates? ☝️

Yes👗 (69%)| No 💅 (31%)

5. Do you feel like you have to play hard to get on dates?

Yes, I do 💁🏻♀️ (45%)| No, I don’t ❌ (55%)

6. Do you feel like you’ll be judged for showing interest too soon on a date?

Yes (76%)| No (24%)

7. Do you feel like your needs come second to your date's?

Yeah, sometimes 😶 (48%)| I put myself first☝️ (52%)

8. What do you think influences these ‘rules’ for women?

Rom-coms 🎥 (48%) | “Log kya kahenge” 👨🏻🤝👨🏼 (52%)

9. If you could rewrite some of these rules, would you?

Yes please🙋♀️ (90%)| No, I like them 🙅♀️ (10%).