The emergence of #MeToo has complicated and confused the rules of engagement for millennial dating. Aside from the obvious “no-no’s,” where does one draw the line?
Whether it’s going in for a first kiss or asking for a cell number, many millennial men are wondering how to even make the first move without it being construed as harassment. As one frustrated single man from West Virginia told the Washington Post, “I don’t know what anyone’s thinking nowadays. I don’t know what could be considered harassment or what won’t be.”
#MeToo has done a tremendous job of breaking barriers and exposing some of the most horrid offenders, but in some ways, it has created a culture of “guilty until proven innocent.” Any woman can claim that a man has “harassed” her, and people are inclined to accept it as true without any proof whatsoever. Generally speaking, this has caused men on the dating scene to tread ultra-cautiously.
Women are likewise finding it challenging to navigate through the complexities of dating in the #MeToo era. Jennifer Lee of Bolde, an editorial platform for single women, laments that women have also suffered the consequences of this cultural shift in their search for love.
“People are very easily triggered,” she says. “Everyone is on edge because of this so there’s no telling what words could offend whom. It’s a lot.”
The #MeToo movement has opened the floodgates to political correctness in the dating world. As Lee notes, “[I]t’s just getting hard to keep up with what is and isn’t PC and also make sure you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings.” She argues that this makes for a “boring and awkward date.”
“We don’t need Big Brother anymore,” she says. “[W]e’ve done it ourselves.”
The upside of the movement is clear: Women are more empowered, and men are forced to be more respectful of women; the popular “hookup culture” is slowly self-destructing. As the Big Brother reference suggests, millennials are chaperoning themselves for fear of backlash, which makes for purer relationships.
But has the movement gone too far? #MeToo has blurred the lines of what does and doesn’t constitute harassment to the point where men and women are so cautious not to offend each other that date conversations have become dull and superficial. This is less than helpful for couples who are just trying to get to know each other.
In the #MeToo era, it seems that millennials have fallen victim to their own wokeness and catchy social media hashtags.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is a freelance journalist in California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.
