Dating TV shows: today’s relationship porn
Note: This piece was originally written around 2015, during the peak of the reality TV boom and the rise of relationship-focused formats like The Bachelor. A decade later, the genre has only grown more…
Stuff to read
Why “Be Yourself” is the worst dating advice
This insight comes from my book Costly Signals: The Evolution of Dating Advice, where I dive deeper into how evolutionary principles can transform modern dating. The problem isn’t authenticity. It’s legibility. “Just be yourself.”…
5 Books that predicted the modern loneliness crisis
Long before dating apps and “situationships,” these authors saw exactly where we were headed. We talk about loneliness as if it’s new—a product of smartphones and pandemic isolation. But authors who studied American relationships…
The quirky world of 1950s dating advice: beyond the viral laughs
A few years ago, the internet erupted with laughter over a 1958 McCall’s magazine article titled “129 Ways to Get a Husband.” Sparked by a Wisconsin woman’s Facebook post of her rummage-sale find, the…
3 Signs you’re getting bad dating advice
Red flags to watch for before you take anyone’s relationship guidance The dating advice industry is enormous. Books, podcasts, YouTube channels, TikTok creators, and Reddit threads—everyone has opinions about how to find love. Some…
Dating apps didn’t kill dating advice—they made it essential
Why the genre thrives in an era of Tinder swipes and algorithmic matches When Tinder launched in 2012, many predicted the death of dating advice books. Why read about approaching strangers or reading signals…
Sexual Behavior in the 1970s
Attitudes, practices and data from the “Me Generation” Our very liberal attitudes toward sex have their origins in the “swinging sixties,” but it was during the 1970s that a more outlandish sexual culture emerged.…
My work in Myanmar
Huts, hotels and sexy models—pornography in Myanmar
The Golden Land’s x-rated side In the early 2000s, before the advent of video-hosting websites like Pornhub and XVideos, a video of a young couple in a Mandalay hotel room found its way onto…
Top ten dating advice tips for men
Dating tips in time for Valentine’s Day Women aren’t always clear about what they find attractive in a partner, as frustrating and alluring as that can be for many men. To be more specific,…
Tentative Tinder matches in The Golden Land
Myanmar matches with the new swipe culture 36-year-old Sandar Win chats with her two friends at Amazon Coffee, distracting herself with a smartphone in one hand. She smiles and flashes them a picture of…
Courtship, dance and fashion—Chin style
Romance rituals reinvigorated Finding a partner is an essential part of human life, whether that person is a match on Tinder in Yangon or a childhood sweetheart from a neighboring village in Chin State.…
Dating and Mating 