The invention of dating
The rules of love are shaped by economics. The concept of “dating” only came about at the dawn of the industrial age, when new opportunities lured young people to cities in droves. Working women were soon exposed to an array of potential mates, but many lived in tenements or boarding houses that were unfit for hosting callers.
So men offered to escort romantic prospects to restaurants or dance halls, luring poorly paid women with the prospect of a “free treat”.
文本选自:经济学人
作者: Moira Weigel. Farrar, Straus & Giroux
原文标题:Labour of Love: The Invention of Dating.