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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What “special dates” incurred great cost, according to the author in Chapter 3, "The Worth of a Date”?

2. According to the author in Chapter 3, "The Worth of a Date,” a date meant what?

3. Ideals of beauty were often set by whom, according to the author in Chapter 3, "The Worth of a Date”?

4. According to the author in Chapter 2, "The Economy of Dating,” after World War II dating was still a way to demonstrate what?

5. What constantly portrayed the other sex as commodities, according to the author in Chapter 3, "The Worth of a Date”?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe the process of a young woman’s coming of age in accepting callers in Chapter 1, "Calling Cards and Money"?

2. What demographic emerged in the late nineteenth century? What impact did this group have on the systems of courtship?

3. What arguments did experts make regarding the public nature of dating, according to the author in the Introduction?

4. How was marketing involved in the evolution of women’s idealized beauty in the 1950s and 1960s?

5. How did American men view their coeds on college campuses after returning from World War II?

6. Who had the most power and control within the calling system of courtship? How is this role described?

7. How does the author describe the system of dating as a public one in the Introduction?

8. Why was sexual intimacy criticized as a means of human connection, according to the author in the Introduction?

9. At what settings did the system of dating originate? How did this system spread?

10. How did dating change the power distribution of courtship according to the author in Chapter 1, "Calling Cards and Money"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the origins, history, and evolution of the beauty industry in the United States. Prior to World War II, how was beauty marketed in the U.S.? How did ideals change for female beauty following the war? How was beauty depicted as a commodity to be purchased and sold?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the innovations of “petting” and “necking” in the early twentieth century. How were these terms defined by the youth culture? What did etiquette books say of these activities during the 1950s? When did perceptions of these actions change?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss advertising in the post-World War II era in America. What ideals were promoted to men and to women through advertising at this time? How did marketing and the media impact gender identities? How did the values of men who returned from the war change?

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