If Congress suddenly mandated that all women pick up the check, men would want to date more.
Are people actually willing to date someone they otherwise wouldn’t just for the free food? I’ve seen this claimed elsewhere, but personally the amount I’d have to be paid for me to be willing to spend a few hours with someone I dislike is higher than the amount I’d pay for a meal by at least half an order of magnitude. So, was I incorrectly generalizing from one example?
Are people actually willing to date someone they otherwise wouldn’t just for the free food?
Many, almost certainly. Whether they would ever admit to themselves that crude economic incentives could have a deciding influence at the margin is an entirely different question. They just need to feel different amounts of attraction without understanding why.
The effect is at the margins. A man won’t date an extremely unattractive woman for free food. But if a woman is barely below a man’s minimum standards, the prospect of free food can lift her over
Are people actually willing to date someone they otherwise wouldn’t just for the free food? I’ve seen this claimed elsewhere, but personally the amount I’d have to be paid for me to be willing to spend a few hours with someone I dislike is higher than the amount I’d pay for a meal by at least half an order of magnitude. So, was I incorrectly generalizing from one example?
Many, almost certainly. Whether they would ever admit to themselves that crude economic incentives could have a deciding influence at the margin is an entirely different question. They just need to feel different amounts of attraction without understanding why.
The effect is at the margins. A man won’t date an extremely unattractive woman for free food. But if a woman is barely below a man’s minimum standards, the prospect of free food can lift her over
Prostitution exists.
Yes, but most people are not prostitutes.
ETA: also, AFAIK escorts are an order of magnitude more expensive than street prostitutes.