Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Another reason why POF is unsuccessful

When I decided to rant about my POF experiences (or, more accurately, my LACK of experiences), I just did it because I was frustrated at reading the endless profiles of all caps rants about how men are pigs and we need to pass a background check, polygraph, penile plethysmograph, and credit check before a woman would even dream of dating someone from POF. Hell, this blog is a little bit of therapy for me. But in the past year, I've given some serious thought about WHY the POF experience sucks so much ass, for men and women both. I have written some thoughts on this blog already, but now I want to add another theory on this.

I was reading an article today entitled, "Fallout from Campus Sexual Assault Hysteria: College Men now Suspicious of Women," in the Washington Examiner.

Thanks to an increased focus on sexual assaults on college campuses – mostly due to an overblown statistic claiming 20 percent of college women have been sexually assaulted – young college men are starting to rethink how they talk to women.
At first glance that might seem like a good thing – men learning to be more respectful of women and not be so rapey – but that’s not what this is.
This is about men actually avoiding contact with women because they’re afraid a simple kiss or date could lead to a sexual assault accusation.
Bloomberg reporters John Lauerman and Jennifer Surane interviewed multiple men from colleges like Harvard and Stanford who expressed concern over what was once known as a "hook-up culture" but is now labeled by feminists as "rape culture." The change in terminology ensures that all responsibility is placed on men, just because of their gender.
Take Malik Gill of Harvard University, who said he wouldn’t even give a female classmate a beer.
“I don’t want to look like a predator,” Gill told Bloomberg. “It’s a little bit of a blurred line.”
Gone are the days of buying a woman a drink – even if it’s just to be nice.
Yes, men are becoming more reluctant to date women. I doubt this is limited to college campuses. Think about some of the schmucks I discussed on this very blog, like the woman who stated all prospective dates would be subjected to a background check before a first date:


Honestly, aside from some guy with a really bad past who may see this as a challenge in need of accepting, would anyone want this kind of hassle?  Would any of my readers date someone who put this on her profile?

If you Google online dating nightmares, there is no shortage of sites telling online dating nightmare stories. Looks like I'm just another fish in that sea. But I didn't make this blog to be the next internet sensation.

Yes, I do fear the thought of dating the wrong woman at times. After all, there are stories of men locked up over false allegations, and in a he-said-she-said in a case with no other evidence, there are enough stories where she-said wins to keep that fear burned into my brain as a lingering thought. If anything, reports like this one make those like me somewhat reluctant to participate in the online dating phenomenon. It seems to me what is happening on campus is spreading.

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on this topic.