I’m really sorry to do this to you guys, but I’m incensed enough about this next little tidbit that I kind of just have to share it with you: According to a somewhat questionable-sounding online dating site, women are throwing away huge sums of money every time they reject a potential suitor.
WhatsYourPrice.com, which touts itself as “the world’s first dating-auction site,” compiled data from almost 530,000 offers made by men that were either declined or neglected by women in 2013. According to their statistics, the average first date in America costs $142, and the sum total of money that was apparently “thrown away” by women who decided not to accept a first date offer was a whopping $75,439,282. They’re calling the study “The Cost of Saying No.”
Where do I even start with this one? The whole “dating auction” thing? The $142 price tag pinned to the average first date in America? Or the fact that “The Cost of Saying No” effectively shames women for turning down dates they don’t want to go on because of the amount of money they're missing out on?
I probably wouldn’t join a dating site that matches people by the cost of a first date, rather than by some sort of compatibility algorithm, although I can deal with the fact that others might. What I really have trouble with is the fact that this “study” is equating women’s — or anyone’s, really — right to turn down a first date if they’re honestly not interested in someone with financial irresponsibility. It’s saying that whether or not we want to go on a date is irrelevant; we should just accept money when it’s tossed at us, regardless as to who’s doing the tossing. And that? Not OK. Not OK at all.
Also, who the heck blows $142 on a first date? If you’re just in the getting-to-know-you phase, wouldn’t it seem more financially responsible to, y’know, buy someone a $3 cup of coffee, rather than drop a sum of money that would pay for an entire month's worth of groceries? What’s that saying? Something about pots and kettles…?
For the curious, WhatsYourPrice.com also took the liberty of identifying the five cities with the “pickiest women” — or, as I like to think of it, the five cities with the most butt-hurt rejected dudes:
1. San Francisco
Number of Declines: 9,642 Amount Lost: $1,452,823 The Cost of Saying No: $150.68
2. Las Vegas
Number of Declines: 8,171 Amount Lost: $1,217,701 The Cost of Saying No: $149.03
3. Chicago
Number of Declines: 11,315 Amount Lost: $1,655,769 The Cost of Saying No: $146.33
4. New York City
Number of Declines: 42,026 Amount Lost: $5,692,285 The Cost of Saying No: $135.45
5. Los Angeles
Number of Declines: 23,173 Amount Lost: $3,041,484 The Cost of Saying No: $131.25
Here. Have some interspecies love. It'll make you feel better:
