Dating Red Flags: Political Leanings and Relationship Satisfaction
According to a recent survey by Change Research, the biggest dating red flag for men is when someone identifies as a communist. A whopping 64% said this political leaning would be a turnoff. Communism is a far-left ideology that advocates for all wealth and property to be communally owned. Coming in second place was having no hobbies, followed by identifying as a “MAGA Republican.”
55% of women said identifying as a communist is a red flag, but other sociopolitical stances were more problematic. A potential partner saying that there are only two genders or saying “all lives matter” were both bigger red flags than being a communist — so was having no hobbies.
Politics and Relationship Challenges
The survey results demonstrate a broader trend of men and women having increasingly divergent political views. In 2021, 44% of women identified as liberal, while only 25% of men did. A decade ago, 30% of women and 27% of men identified as liberal.
People who date someone politically dissimilar are generally less satisfied
Daniel Cox, director and founder of the Survey Center on American Life, says that as the gap between conservative and liberal ideologies widens, it gets harder and harder to imagine dating someone who exists across it. “When you look back to the ’90s, there were plenty of moderate republicans and plenty of liberal republicans,” he says. “The political categories didn’t map onto ideological categories as neatly as they do today.”
People like to date those who are similar to them
The political divide has raised issues with people who differ politically. Alyssandra Tobin, 29, lives in Missoula, Montana and identifies as a leftist. If someone is hostile about her political views, it’s usually because they associate them with communism. After a few unpleasant experiences, she is “a bit more shy.” As the party affiliation acts more as a proxy for beliefs, lifestyle choices and character, singles are more likely to stick with someone they feel matches their own.
Relationship Struggles
Cynthia Peacock, an associate professor at the University of Alabama college of communication and information sciences, has researched political communication, partisanship and polarization. She says that political dissimilarities affect relationship satisfaction, leading to intense conflict. Despite the old adage that “opposites attract,” most people like to date those who are similar to them.
Daniel Huff, a former adviser to the Donald Trump White House and founder of The Right Stuff, a dating app for conservatives, has faced discomfort and hostility when sharing his career and party affiliation on a date. He used to be more open to dating those who differed from him politically, but now steers away from it, driven by necessity.
Dating challenges go beyond politics
Huff says that dating across political lines is difficult, as people on the left are not willing to entertain it, making dating even harder. He does wish that his political stance mattered less to people than his daily habits. “You’d think the day-to-day is more important as opposed to, ‘What is your opinion on if we should build a wall?’ That doesn’t affect our day to day,” he says.
In conclusion, political views not only affect relationships and satisfaction, which singles often seek to align, but also create difficulties and discomfort in dating. This gap continues to widen, driving people to seek out partners with similar political beliefs and lifestyle choices in order to avoid conflict and unhappiness in their relationships.
