Go Get Him! Study Shows Women Who Make The First Move Have Better Dating Success
I'm sitting at the bar enjoying sushi and my second $9 cocktail when one of my friends taps the shoulder of the guy sitting next to me.
“Hi!" she says to him. “What's your name?"
He tells her.
“Have you met my friend, Tee?" she replies, as she turns her back to us to continue conversing with the group behind us, as if she has just accomplished a major task.
It's an awkward introduction. He's confused and annoyed – mainly, I presume, because dude is already engrossed in a conversation with a young woman on the other side of him. So I'm initially horrified because all my friend has done is inadvertently let him know that I'm possibly:
1) a relationship reject
2) incapable of meeting men on my own
3) a homewrecker
Then I grow angry because I'm none of the above, and she's placed me in a humiliating position all because I'm not flirting and mingling to her satisfaction. I'm left seething in my seat, mumbling under my breath that if I wanted to meet dude, I would've introduced my damn self.
Okay, I'm lying about that last part.
I'm not that forward when it comes to meeting men. I'm ingrained with that you-don't-chase-men wisdom and that includes not approaching them to express initial interest. I'm taught to always allow the man to come to me.
But according to an informal survey conducted by dating site OkCupid, that way of thinking is so antiquated and doesn't exactly yield desirable results: “Women who reach out first have a better chance of success." In fact, those women who initiate contact are 2.5 times more likely to get favorable responses than men who make the first move, and those replies will spark more conversations with men we actually want to talk to.
“When women are proactive, there's a big win," OKCupid chief product officer Jimena Almendares tells ABC News. “This is data that is showing that if they actually speak up, they have so much to gain."
Admittedly, this makes sense. Like many women, I'm generally more selective about whom I entertain or allow in my personal space even in a public setting, so if I actually step to a guy, I must be really intrigued and simultaneously imagining a name change, mortgage, and a set of twins, too.
Still my initial thought was in a world where we can now swipe left and right to a relationship, making the first move seems more acceptable and reasonable. But how does the information translate to real life? Will a man find this behavior too aggressive? Emasculating? Desperate?
On a segment on Good Morning America, writer, author, relationship expert, and BFF-in-my-head Demetria Lucas D'Oyley reminds us that times have changed and first moves on our parts no longer indicate thirst, so there's no reason why we can't update our rules, apply them to real life, and take complete charge of our dating lives.
“It's 2016," Lucas-D'Oyley says. “We've been doing things the wrong way for a really long time."
I reflect on my dating drought history just to refute OkCupid's findings and Lucas-D'Oyley's statement and support my Grandma's wise words: “You don't chase no man." But I find that I have no grand success story to share. I'm usually one of those women who's posted up outside of the spotlight enjoying happy hour fare, afterward crossing her arms, avoiding eye contact, delivering a mean blank stare, and daring a soul to interrupt her chill evening.
But that's less about me being standoffish and more about me using past experiences to gauge my present – I've had undesirable men follow and stick to me like old honey just from exchanging pleasantries. They come out the woodwork to sniff me out like The Walking Dead extras, and spend the remainder of my evening plotting an escape route.
And since I'm an introvert who cringes at the idea of introductions anyway, it's also more about me preserving my mental energy and small talk for someone who actually piques my curiosity. But even then, I would've never stepped to him. I'd unfurrow my brow, relax my tight lips, and hope he gets the hint that it's okay for him to strike up a convo.
Perhaps in that aspect we have gotten it all wrong.
For one, finding a potential significant other has kind of grown into a convoluted mind game where we're sending all these nonverbal cues – like sitting at a bar all prim and proper sipping our pricy cocktails while puckering our lips and batting our lashes – to make a man notice us. But sometimes those signals are a foreign language that gets lost in translation or intercepted by the wrong party.
Besides, that man-is-the-hunter while the woman-is-the-prey belief is not just outdated, it's just plain sexist and barbaric. Maybe the onus shouldn't be solely on him in a two-to-tango world, and maybe he shouldn't bear all the pressure of potential rejection since, after all, he's more likely to get shut down much faster than we are. We're human. We're equal. We're grown. And as empowered women who are go-getters in nearly every other aspect of our lives, why are we remaining so passive about a life choice in which we're likely to become long term, active participants?
Posed that way, I agree that we should exercise some sort of initial control when it comes to our personal lives, but in moderation with common sense and class. As Lucas-D'Oyley says, approaching a man with “Yo Papi, what's good?" ain't it. Neither is feeling him up like the Steve Harvey show blind dates do or stepping to him when he's already taken as my friend did.
And most importantly, as Lucas-D'Oyley clarifies, making the first move doesn't mean make all the moves. The point is only to express interest and break the ice.
Aha! So Grandma was right! Okay to an extent. So while I'm willing to say, “Hi" or compliment his nice shirt like Lucas-D'Oyley advises, I'm still not chasing him.
And then I'm still going to expect him to offer me that $9 drink because, well, I'll still need him to put in some work.
Have you made or would you ever make the first move?
Featured image by Getty Images
- Women Who Made the First Move - Dating Advice ›
- Go ahead, ladies, make the first move. You'll date more attractive men. ›
- Why Girls Should Make The First Move, As Told By A Guy ›
- Should Women Make the First Move in a Relationship? | Psychology ... ›
- 15 Reasons Women Should Always Make The First Move ›
- Study says men want women to make the first move - Videos - CBS ... ›
- Why Don't Women Make The First Move? - AskMen ›
- 8 Reasons Why More Women Should Make The First Move ... ›
- 9 Times Women Made the First Move—and Guys LOVED It ›
I write about lifestyle and women's health and wellness. When I'm not in front of a computer screen crafting stories, I'm in a kitchen crafting cocktails. Follow me on the 'gram @teronda.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Between the rise of the creator economy and the gig economy, the window of opportunity to leverage your creativity for long-term gain has never been more potent.
For the last four years, I’ve worked as a full-time freelance writer and content creator. A year into this journey, I knew that if I wanted to create a sense of structure around my life outside of a traditional 9-5, I would have to create it.
To my surprise, that came in the form of social media.
Now, you might be wondering how someone might be able to juggle their work in a creatively-dominant career like writing while still having the mental capacity to produce ideas for their own personal brand, and well, that answer didn’t come easily.
In 2021, I hit a wall with writing and content creation.
With the stress and uncertainty that came as a result of the pandemic, to being burned out from having to live off my creativity, I reached a breaking point. For me, writing was always a space to explore my thoughts, process heavy topics, and express concepts that only words could bring reason to. However, when I didn’t have the brainpower to write or create content, I knew it was time to set parameters around my hobby of content creation and my passion for storytelling.
In this case, the biggest challenge was finding the balance between the two by releasing the guilt and shame of taking a break from both in order to reconnect with them.
Through years of trial and error, the fog finally cleared, and I was able to hit my stride in 2023. From garnering over 10K followers on TikTok, building an Instagram community around lifestyle and creative encouragement, along with my wellness collective, Black Girl Playground, and writing for xoNecole as a lifestyle contributor, the creative juices have been flowing steadily.
And it all happened by creating a strategy that allowed space for planning, resting, and creating. Today, I’ll be sharing my top tips to help you find your balance between your side hustle and passions.
On staying inspired and motivated when working on various content creation and freelancing projects:
Early this year, I came to the bright conclusion that I needed to shorten the gap between ideation and execution — and it completely changed how I create.
Oftentimes, when we have an idea come to us, we let it sit for too long, and then before we know it, we’ve either lost the enthusiasm to put it into action, or someone else grabs it. If you want to stay in a flow of creativity, whether side projects or full-time work, it’s important to not get slowed down by self-doubt, procrastination, or perfectionism.
Give yourself permission to act on your ideas as they come to you. Even if they’re a little muddy or not “perfect,” you can always fine-tune them later.
@yagirlaley shrinking the gap between [ideation] + [execution] 🧠💡#fyp #creativeadvice
On the importance of choosing a niche:
If there’s one thing that has helped me balance my work as a writer and content creator, it’s putting each in its own niche (or category). By definition, a niche is a specialized segment of the market or a specific area of expertise.
When you are creating in the same niche that you’re also making a living in, that’s an easy way to get your wires crossed. And at times, this could lead to feeling as if you don’t have any ideas for yourself because you’ve given them to the other area you're juggling.
When balancing two, you want to have enough fresh ideas to give to your personal projects and your full-time work to avoid any overlap. This ensures that your personal creative vision isn’t compromised when working on client projects while still having some for yourself.
On the strategies that have helped to maintain a consistent workflow in both areas:
I can’t stress enough how important it is to create a workflow and structure for yourself as a freelancer — this applies to those with a 9-5 in the day and a 5-9 at night, too.
As someone who admittedly has ADHD tendencies, object permanence can sometimes create a block in time and project management. That’s why I encourage creatives and professionals to create systems that allow you to see the work that’s ahead of you.
Personally, I can’t live without having multiple calendars going at once. My Google calendar keeps track of interviews for articles and events, while my physical calendar helps me keep track of important dates. I also work out of an Excel sheet where I can log in ongoing stories and track their status from drafting to submission. I’ve also heard great things about the Notion app for planning and tracking.
When it comes to creating content, spending time doing bulk content days has been an asset to my creative workflow. When I complete the videos, I save them to my drafts and upload them as needed.
Credit: Amberita
Courtesy of the writer
On the best advice for someone who is considering pursuing both content creation and freelancing simultaneously:
Don’t be ashamed of taking a break and resting — because both are essential to the life of a creative. Last month, I returned to Instagram after taking 6 months off from posting. During that time, I worked on growing my TikTok page, using the platform to practice vulnerability and allowing myself to put the fun back into creating content. Without the time, I can’t say I’d be able to approach Instagram with the same ease and playfulness; but thanks to that time away, it was possible.
Resting, letting our minds wander, or simply doing nothing are all just as productive as creating. No one can produce at all times, we have to allow ourselves the space for new concepts and ideas to flow to us. In addition to that, when we take breaks from social media, it allows us to stop the wheel of comparison and consume more than we create. So if you feel like you’re in a creative rut with all you want to balance, it may be time to take a step back, unapologetically.
Your creativity will thank you for it.
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Featured image by Sir Taylor