We all complain about dating because, well, it sucks sometimes. Okay, a lot of the time. But we don’t have that much to complain about compared to our grandparents.
There’re still dating rules out there, but no one actually pays attention to them. The ones from our grandparents dating days were definitely interesting and would be frickin’ hard to follow, and yes, these are actually some of them.
Younevermake the first move.
“Only floozies ask men out first. And when someone asks you out, it’s polite to give an immediate answer.”
Give the man attention.
“Don’t sit in awkward positions and never look bored, even if you are. Be alert.”
No makeup retouching.
“Men don’t like women girls who borrow their handkerchief and smudge the with lipstick. Makeup in privacy, not where he sees you.”
You don’t talk first.
“Let him talk first. Remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.”
Don’t move your hands.
“For some reason, men hate to see a women doing anything with her hands while talking to her. Don’t knit them or move them.”
Don’t be emotional.
Don’t be sentimental or try to get him to say something he doesn’t want to by working on his emotions. Men don’t like tears, especially in public places.”
No talking to other guys if you want a second date.
“Don’t be conspicuous talking to other men. Chances are your date will never call again.”
Remember, you don’t count anymore.
“To make him feel important, you have to forget your own desires.”
Let your man order for you.
“The man always does the ordering. Never ask the waiter yourself for anything.”
Lay on the compliments.
”Compliment him on his physical prowess, his mental acumen, his good looks, his virility. The worst mistake a girl can make is to make a man feel intellectually inferior or inadequate as a male. Stroke his ego. Let him think he's king much of the time.”
No touching.
“Don’t be familiar with your escort by caressing him in public. Any open show of affection is in bad taste usually embarrasses or humiliates him.”
It’s up to you to get a ring on it.
"It is up to you to earn the proposal—by waging a dignified, common-sense campaign designed to help him see for himself that matrimony rather than bachelorhood is the keystone of a full and happy life."
Don’t go to a man’s house by yourself.
“In this case, a girl not out of her teens would do better to avoid [dinner at a bachelor's] unless others, considerably more mature than she, are present. A career girl, from her twenties onward, can accept such an invitation but should not stay beyond ten or ten-thirty.”
No complaining.
“Complaining, whining, comparing, sneering, harping – the nagger may specialize in one or be a general practitioner of all these forms of mental cruelty. Nagging is a devastating emotional disease.”
Be as chic as possible.
"In order to increase your chances of acquiring chic when it is lacking, the first requirement is to be aware of the fact that you do not possess it. … Know at least your general type: sporty and casual, or doll-like and exquisite. Study all the fashion magazines.”
Don’t be easy.
"The man has one set of standards for himself and another for you. He may consider himself a Don Juan for having succeeded in getting you to pet, but he will also decide that you’re too easy to get.”
Talking like one of the guys is out.
"If you are a gal who uses frank, men's locker room language, DON'T on this first date. Avoid shocking your date. Even if he uses such language and hears all the guys and dolls in the senior class using it, he wants his date to be better than the rest of the crowd."
Don’t change his evening plans.
"If he's made plans for the evening, don't try to change them. Boys resent bitterly, and they have every right to, the idea that they're being manipulated or pushed around on a date."
Watch your Mom do things.
"A young woman should begin in her teens learning the things that keep a home running smoothly. She can watch how her mother cooks and bakes. There are also many opportunities for a daughter to observe how Mother handles Dad when he’s had a tough day at work."
Be prepared to give up your work life.
"If you have a job or career of your own, would you be willing to give it up if it would advance your husband's interests? If not, you are more interested in promoting yourself than promoting your husband. Helping a man attain success is a full-time career in itself.”
