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Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating

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“Does anyone date anymore?” Today, the authorities tell us that courtship is in crisis. But when Moira Weigel dives into the history of sex and romance in modern America, she discovers that authorities have always said this. Ever since young men and women started to go out together, older generations have scolded them: That’s not the way to find true love. The first women who made dates with strangers were often arrested for prostitution; long before “hookup culture,” there were “petting parties”; before parents worried about cell phone apps, they fretted about joyrides and “parking.” Dating is always dying. But this does not mean that love is dead. It simply changes with the economy. Dating is, and always has been, tied to work.

Lines like “I’ll pick you up at six” made sense at a time when people had jobs that started and ended at fixed hours. But in an age of contract work and flextime, many of us have become sexual freelancers, more likely to text a partner “u still up?” Weaving together over one hundred years of history with scenes from the contemporary landscape, Labor of Love offers a fresh feminist perspective on how we came to date the ways we do. This isn't a guide to “getting the guy.” There are no ridiculous “rules” to follow. Instead, Weigel helps us understand how looking for love shapes who we are—and hopefully leads us closer to the happy ending that dating promises.

ISBN-13: 9780374536954

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Farrar - Straus and Giroux

Publication Date: 08-22-2017

Pages: 320

Product Dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)

Moira Weigel was born in Brooklyn. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Nation, The New Republic, n+1, and The New Inquiry, among other publications, and she is currently completing a PhD in Comparative Literature at Yale University. After years of first-person research on dating, she is off the market. Labor of Love is her first book.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Dates 3

1 Tricks 11

2 Likes 33

3 Outs 49

4 School 71

5 Steadies 102

6 Freedom 128

7 Niches 154

8 Protocol 183

9 Plans 211

10 Help 241

Afterword: Love 261

A Note on Sources 269

Notes 271

Acknowledgments 289

Index 291