Dating decoded: Evolutionary insights on attraction
Welcome to my collection of articles exploring the timeless dance of dating and mating. Drawing from evolutionary psychology, cultural history, and real-world wisdom, these pieces decode the costly signals that shape attraction, reveal hidden patterns in modern romance, and offer practical insights to navigate love’s complexities. Whether you’re curious about biology’s role in courtship or seeking strategies for deeper connections, start reading and uncover what really drives human desire.
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10 Dating books that changed how people date (and mate)
From ancient Rome to the pickup artist era—a curated list with commentary from my research into the evolution of dating advice Essential dating books Some dating books sell millions of…
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Bonnie Blue’s pregnancy and the evolution of dating signals
What the “breeding mission” tells us about costly signaling in the attention economy On February 22, 2026, the British adult content creator Bonnie Blue posted a YouTube video confirming she…
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The Bridget Jones effect 20 years on
Why 1990s dating anxiety never went away In February 2025, Renée Zellweger returned as Bridget Jones in Mad About the Boy, the fourth film in a franchise that began over…
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Valentine’s day is a fitness test (and you’re being graded)
From panic bouquets to quiet presence: how February 14th grades your mate value Every year around the middle of February, a familiar anxiety settles over men in relationships. What do…
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What evolutionary psychology actually says about attraction
Debunking the pop science—and what the research really shows If you’ve spent time in online dating discussions, you’ve likely encountered evolutionary psychology explaining attraction. Men prioritize youth and beauty for…
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Punch cards and perfect matches: Harvard’s 1965 dating revolution
50 years before Tinder’s swipe-based dating dynamics, Harvard students sparked the digital dating revolution with punch cards, algorithms, and a quest for campus romance. This was the beginning of the…
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Pop star parenting styles: fame, attachment, and the children left behind
Exploring the hidden costs of stardom Like many fans, I was astounded to hear that Freddie Mercury secretly fathered a daughter in 1976. If the claims in Lesley-Ann Jones’s 2025…
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Why manners matter: the evolutionary origins of etiquette
How a healthy Victorian-era adaptation to disgust got rewired during Covid into maladaptive shaming When we think of Victorian etiquette—the elaborate rules about which fork to use, how to make…
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The twin brothers throuple: why polyandry goes viral in Thailand’s polygamy-tolerant culture
Exploring Thailand’s infidelity paradox through evolutionary psychology An interesting story by Chattarin Siradakul in The Thaiger reports on a TikTok video from Nakhon Phanom showing 24-year-old Fah announcing her relationship…
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The strangest dating advice from the 1980s
The pre-romantic me, back in the decade of flux Ah, the late 1980s—when I was just hitting my teenage years, navigating the awkward thrill of first crushes amid a whirlwind…
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Concealed polygamy: what a 1914 book reveals about situationships
Over 100 years of hidden harems Our monogamy is constantly varied by polygyny, or pseudo-polygamy, lacking the sanctions and responsibilities of Mohammedan plurality. That’s not a hot take from a…
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Earned security: how to overcome a difficult childhood and date well
Overcoming early wounds to build lasting, secure relationships In 2022, a viral TikTok trend called “traumacore” saw millions of young adults creating videos that aestheticized their childhood wounds—absent fathers, emotionally…
What is a costly signal?
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