Ask a young person today about “courting” and they’ll probably tell you about a 1900s period drama they saw on Netflix. In this day and age, in the era of Tinder and hookup culture, courting seems like a vestige of the past. Before the sexual revolution, the term courting basically meant the same thing as dating, but think PG dating, rather than adult dating. In this article, we’ll use a history of terms to explain courting vs dating.
Courting vs Dating
In the past, the courting phase was pretty tame and usually didn’t involve much physical contact. What physical contact did occur is stuff that might make modern daters, especially in a casual dating scenario, feel uncomfortable. Like, imagine if the physical contact you had with a Tinder date was limited to hand-holding and gazing meaningfully into one another’s eyes? Um, no thank you.
So what’s the difference between courting and dating? These days, maybe there is none. Courting isn’t even a thing. Here’s why we think we should be grateful for that, and for some other developments we’ve made in the realm of dating.
A Brief History of Courting
Courting was invented by Christians as a way to describe the relationship between two young people of marriageable age who no longer saw themselves as mere friends, but a potential husband-and-wife duo. Here’s what they weren’t allowed to do:
- Hold hands
- Kiss
- Be alone together
- Touch
- Misstate their intentions
It’s amazing that our species didn’t die out altogether. Of course, for the Christians it was a way of ensuring that your potential partner was just as firm a believer in Christ as you were — a sort of litmus test in sexual frustration. Fun!
The Evolution of Courting
Not so fast, though — there’s a more modern version of courting that’s been making the rounds, one that doesn’t adhere to such puritanical guidelines but is grounded in a sort of old school version of romance. Dating, we say these days, is more for fun — just a little lighthearted experimentation, without all the heavy expectations. Courting, on the other hand, could still be a more serious business. It’s a term that wouldn’t get used unless marriage was a real possibility to both people. If you can imagine
“hey baby, should we take this to the next level and change our Facebook status to ‘courting’?“
Is Modern Courting a Thing?
Technically, this term probably doesn’t apply too often to what modern daters do. It’s likely to garner more raised eyebrows and quizzical expressions than anything else. On the other hand, if used in the more modern sense, it can serve as an interesting topic between two consenting adults, who want to explore a more committed and exclusive type of romantic relationship: “hey baby, should we take this to the next level and change our Facebook status to ‘courting’?”
Fortunately these days a sense of humor is pretty common as far as dating is concerned. And we’ll probably learn more about our date’s sense of humor on a modern date than we would back in the day. (Think staring at your date across a room filled with religious-type chaperones.) We still think sexual experimentation is a fine way to learn whether or not you’ll “click” with the person you’re dating, whatever type of relationship you’re looking for. We think this tact will likely show you more about your compatibility than a vow of celibacy and a chastity belt.
If you came here to learn about courting vs dating, we hope we could be helpful! Ready to find a date to court? Click to visit our list if Today’s Best Dating Sites now!
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