Dating: A Roaring Twenties Invention

Reading Miss Manners last week reminded me that dating began in the Roaring Twenties.

There was nothing resembling our concept of dating until the 1920s. Before that decade, a man courted the Woman of his Dreams in her home, under the watchful eye of her parents. As Miss Manners pointed out when she was settling a who-should-pay-for-dinner question, that meant the girl’s parents provided whatever refreshments were appropriate, whereas in the twentieth century, the man paid for the date.

One of the most scandalous aspects of the Twenties was the propensity for daring young women (“flappers”) to go out to speakeasies, dance halls, restaurants, and parties without a chaperone. They could drink, smoke cigarettes, bob their hair, and dance all the immoral fad dances like the Charleston. But remember, just because some were doing these things hardly meant all young women were.

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