When It Comes to Dating, Millennials Put Politics Over Good Sex: Survey
Politics are becoming increasingly more important to young people when looking for a potential romantic partner — but having fireworks in the bedroom isn’t, according to reported data from OKCupid.
Between 2016 and 2018, the number of millennial women — defined by Pew Research as those born between 1981 and 1996 — who prioritized dating someone with similar political opinions than having good sex increased from 27 percent to 42 percent, the dating service found, according to the New York Post.
An increase was also noted in millennial men, with the amount increasing from 23 percent to 30 percent.
Additionally, the company found that placing more value on politics than what goes on under the sheets isn’t a new trend. Since 2004, OKCupid’s data shows that the number of young people who preferred to date along party lines increased by 165 percent. Meanwhile, the amount of people who placed high value on having a fulfilling sex life decreased by 30 percent.
RELATED: From Tinder to Lulu: A Guide to the Modern World of Dating Apps
Explaining a possible link between political opinions and what happens in the bedroom, sex therapist Megan Fleming told the Post that having so much common ground with your partners can have an adverse effect on your sex life.
“If you’re only exposing yourself to people who think like you, you’re living in a silo and missing out on opportunities,” she explained.
“The best sex I’ve ever had was with a guy who I’m fairly sure was a Republican,” 30-year-old Democrat Jen Winston told the outlet. “If I had known he was a Republican, I probably would not have engaged. But if I had known how good the sex was gonna be, I probably would have gone through with it still.”
RELATED VIDEO: ‘Isn’t It Romantic’ Star Rebel Wilson Says She’s Ready for Love — And Has Used a Celeb Dating App!
And it’s not just having political opinions that are important to millennials — they also want their potential romantic partners to get out and vote.
Ahead of the midterm elections last year, USA Today reported that OkCupid found 85 percent of millennials said voting was “extremely or very important” to them on their dating profiles.
“We added more and more questions about the midterms. Questions like, ‘Would you date someone who didn’t vote?’ And the responses we saw are unprecedented, and we’ve been around 15 years so we know,” OkCupid CMO Melissa Hobley told Cheddar last November. “Young women in particular are not interested in dating you unless you are exercising your right to vote.”
Hobley went on to tell the outlet that in a recent poll, 58 percent of millennial women on OkCupid said they would rather their matches get out and vote than work out. Additionally, 46 percent of millennial women said they wouldn’t even date a non-voter.
“We love this trend. It’s not even a trend, it’s actually a shift in how people are behaving,” Hobley added. “The sexiest person of the year is a voter. Voting is sexy.”
