Hey Everyone,
This is something I've been wondering about for a while.
It might be just me, but when you're a woman, you know that it's pretty much a given that any other woman out there is going to be your competition. It doesn't matter if you're 40 years old or older--you will still be in competition with 20-somethings within the single circles.
There is a popular Christian dating site that I was a part of many years ago, and my favorite part was actually the chat, which, last I read, has been eliminated, which is one of the reasons I haven't renewed my membership.
I preferred the chats to just profiles because it was a way to get a small glimpse of how a person interacted with others in real time. True to form, instead of finding a date, I would usually find myself talking with all the women in the room, and through these talks, I would find out that the 50-something year-old men who were trying to talk to me were also trying to talk to some of the 25-year-olds in chat.
Now, I'm not condemning or necessarily saying that's a bad thing, but that's why I found the chats to be so handy--it was the quickest way to find out if someone I might be interested in was talking to other women--and if he was comparing me with someone half my age.
Dating is intimidating enough, but as a woman, you have to remember that: 1. women your own age are competition, because of course, you're all lumped into the same pool; 2. older women are competition because they're seen as being more sophisticated, and are especially sought after if they're believed to have money (yup, it works both ways); and of course, 3. younger women are competition because, what guy wouldn't want to be seen with a beautiful, younger woman on his arm?
And so, as a woman, you basically feel like you're lost in the crowd because anyone and everyone could be the next woman you might find yourself competing with for a man.
I have always wondered, does it work the same way for men as well?
So, for all you men out there (and of course, the ladies are welcome to share their thoughts, too):
* Guys, when it comes to dating, do you see all the other guys around you as being competition?
* Do you feel you have to compete with guys of all ages, or just in your own age range?
* What things do you do or point out (such as in a dating profile) to help you stand out from the crowd?
* Do you always feel like you have to be seen as smarter, funnier, richer, stronger, or more handsome than the next guy?
Even if you are now married or in a serious relationship, please feel free to answer if any of these thoughts/perceptions applied to you when you were single.
In fact, this is a great bonus question for the guys who are taken:
* Do you feel like you have to stay one step ahead of the crowd in order to keep your lady's interest?
I find this to be a very interesting topic and am hoping that a good number of the gentlemen out there will give us some insight.