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<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n I first came across the \u201cApplication to Date My Daughter\u201d on Facebook, and I was immediately perturbed. For the uninitiated, it\u2019s pretty self-explanatory \u2013 an \u201capplication\u201d to be turned into the stereotypical, over-protective dad by a would-be boyfriend. It\u2019s also very disturbing and highly problematic.<\/p>\n I understand that the audience for this type of media is adult males probably in the South or Midwest (disclaimer: I\u2019m from the Midwest) who are very comfortable both with the \u201cold-fashioned family values\u201d that go along with a certain interpretation of Christianity and with \u201cprotecting their Second Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n I also understand it\u2019s not the sort of thing you\u2019re supposed to take \u201cseriously.\u201d It\u2019s a joke<\/i>. It\u2019s on the Internet. <\/i>But the premise behind it bugs the hell out of me.<\/p>\n There are a number of versions of this application, but I\u2019m going to focus on the one I saw first. Right below the applicant\u2019s personal information is a box for \u201cFamily Information,\u201d including the father\u2019s and mother\u2019s names, addresses, number of marriages, and number of years per each marriage. A 2005 study by Nicholas H. Wolfinger shows that children of divorce are more likely to divorce as adults\u2026 but why should we treat other people as statistics instead of as individuals? Furthermore, the application\u2019s title specifically says date<\/i>, not marry<\/i>, so the inclusion of this family information serves no purpose other than to make applicants (or, really, anyone reading this document) uncomfortable about their family situations.<\/p>\n Then there is a series of violence-based questions: Where would you least like to be shot; which is the last bone you want broken; what do you want to be \u201cIF\u201d you grow up? I thought the premise of this document was to teach boys how to be good boyfriends, good partners, good men. Violence is never part of that answer. Violence is never funny. Little boys don\u2019t need to be taught \u201cdon\u2019t hit girls;\u201d children need to be taught \u201cdon\u2019t hit people.\u201d<\/p>\n The most intriguing prompt was Please complete this sentence: \u201cA woman\u2019s place is\u2026\u201d<\/i> I think I\u2019m making a correct assumption when I say that the proper answer to this question is not \u201cin the home.\u201d However, this answer is wildly at odds with the premise of the document as a whole. I\u2019m all for parents looking out for their kids, especially when they\u2019re just starting to test out romantic relationships. That said, if your daughter\u2019s place is not in the kitchen, then surely she can be trusted to pick out her romantic partners, to set her own parameters?<\/p>\n
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