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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. According to the author in Chapter 1, "Calling Cards and Money,” dating was a response of lower classes to the pressures of what?

2. The first daters complained about what, according to the author in Chapter 3, "The Worth of a Date”?

3. What refers to a token indicating future marriage?

4. The new practice of going steady entirely destroyed what system according to the author in Chapter 2, "The Economy of Dating”?

5. The rules of dating were rooted in the idea of man as what, according to the author in the Introduction?

Short Essay Questions

1. What defined popularity in the world of courtship after World War II?

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

3. How does the author describe the objectification of the sexes in contemporary society in Chapter 3, "The Worth of a Date"?

4. How did the emergence of dating change the values of consumption, according to the author in the Introduction?

5. What subject did Beth Bailey discuss on a talk show in the 1970s? On what show did she appear?

6. When did the term “dating” first enter the American vocabulary? From whom did this term originate?

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

8. What system of courtship dominated the American lifestyle prior to the mid-1920s? How did dating change this system?

9. 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"?

10. To what demographic does Beth Bailey align the system of dating in the Introduction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the impact of World War II on the system of dating and courtship in America. What did “going steady” mean and why did it gain prominence after the war? How were women’s roles changed during and after the war? Why did they change?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the subversion of women’s rights during the emergence of the dating system. Why were women often blamed in the case of rapes or assaults? How did this impact women’s perceptions of themselves and of men? How did the media reinforce this perception?

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