METRO.CO.UK – May 28 – For a society where monogamy is the most common type of relationship, having more than one partner may seem 'wrong' but Janet Hardy, author of The Ethical Slut, argues that having one sexual partner is not necessarily natural. 'I don't think humans are biologically inclined toward monogamy,' she said. 'No other primate is monogamous and monogamy is very rare in nature. Only 17% of human cultures are strictly monogamous,' Bernard Chapais, of the University of Montreal, wrote in Evolutionary Anthropology. A study in 2016 showed that one in five people in the US reported being involved in consensual non-monogamy at some point in their lifetime. ~20 – 25% of men admit cheating on their wives and 10-15% of women admit cheating on their husbands. ~40% of marriages in England and Wales end in divorce. Is it because we don't want to admit that 'the one' is actually 'the few'? For some, polyamory means a stable relationship, just with an extra person. Technology and science is allowing us to move beyond the idea of a two-parent family. The first three-parent babies have been born, where DNA from three people is mixed. It's only being used to prevent inherited diseases now.
Month: May 2019
The Future Is Robots, and They’re Teaching People How to Flirt
NEW YORK TIMES – May 27 – "People think sex and dating is supposed to be easy and innate," said Brianna Rader, the founder and CEO of Juicebox, a sex-education app. "But it's not. It's a life skill just like all other life skills, but unfortunately we're never formally taught these things." Hence the need for Slutbot. The chatbot-based texting service, offered through the Juicebox app, is meant to coach users 18+ in sexting. After confirming that a user is of age, Slutbot starts a conversation, which can be "Slow & Gentle" or "Hot & Sexy." Other apps are less explicitly about sex and romance, but can still be used to cultivate communication in those arenas. Mei, for example, is marketed as a way to improve a user's texting relationship with anyone. Ghostbot, another app, is used to ghost, or quietly dump, aggressive dates on a user's behalf. It is a collaboration between Burner, a temporary phone number app, and Voxable, a company that develops conversational A.I.
Gay Dating App Taimi Launches in Singapore
GAYSTAR NEWS – May 25 – Singapore is the first country in Southeast Asian Taimi has launched in. Male homosexual sex remains criminalized in Singapore under British colonial-era law, Section 377A. While the law is rarely enforced, LGBT rights supporters in Singapore have made numerous calls for Section 377A's repeal. The company says they will not share personal information with the authorities of countries where same-sex sexual activity may be illegal or be met with persecution.
This Dating App Exposes the Monstrous Bias of Algorithms
Tinder Is Giving Its Users With the Best Profiles a Yacht Trip in Italy
Japan to Stop Labeling People Unmarried at 50 as ‘Lifelong Singles’
US Singles Are Crossing Party Lines Again After 2016 Elections
ABC NEWS – May 23 – Many Americans have dated people with a different political affiliation, but that changed after the 2016 election, according to Match Group. In fact, in 2016, there was a period when Americans seemed less interested in dating in general. "For a couple weeks after the election, our traffic went down significantly," said Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg. "We saw our female traffic going down. It was a little bit worrisome because you need women on the apps," Ginsberg said. But over time things have gone back to normal. Ginsberg said that in general, people tend to date over political, socioeconomic, racial and educational divides. However, different apps within Match Group tend to attract people with certain political leanings. Tinder doesn't ask for any political affiliation information. PlentyofFish is considered more "red state" app, according to Ginsberg, OkCupid is a "blue state app."
India Among Top e-Dating Countries
70% of American Singles Are Looking for a Serious Relationship
PR NEWSWIRE – May 22 – The first-ever "Singles & Desirability" study by eharmony reveals those who seek a committed relationship are more desirable and more likely to be successful in their pursuit. Older millennials (77%) and Gen Xers (75%) both showed a stronger preference for serious relationships, more than other age groups. The survey results also identified some of the top professions people seek in potential partners: doctor/nurse, teacher/professor, veterinarian, firefighter/police. The study ranked attractiveness as only the 4th most desirable trait behind honesty (54%), kindness (44%), sense of humor (34%), and intelligence (29%).
Grindr’s Data Misstep and Scramble to Make up
REUTERS – May 22 – Early last year, Grindr's Chinese owner Beijing Kunlun Tech gave some Beijing-based engineers access to personal information of millions of Americans such as private messages and HIV status, prompting U.S. officials to ask it to sell the dating app. After taking full control of Grindr in January 2018, Beijing Kunlun Tech stepped up management changes and consolidated operations to cut costs and expand operations in Asia. In the process, some of the company's engineers in Beijing got access to the Grindr database for several months. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government panel that scrutinizes foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies, worried that Grindr's database may include compromising information about personnel who work in military or intelligence. China's foreign ministry said it was aware of the situation with Grindr and urged the US to allow fair competition and not politicize economic issues. Grindr hired a cyber forensic firm and a third-party auditor at CFIUS’s behest to report on its compliance and to make sure the data was secure. Kunlun kept trying to salvage the Grindr deal until as recently as last week, when it said it would sell it by June next year.