While flipping through an old issue of Listen! magazine featuring a few interesting articles, I came across a quiz and article by a guy named Justin Lookadoo. The quiz was something along the lines of “Are you ready to have sex?” and listed a few true/false questions which were all worth 5 points or so, except one. This last question said, “True or False: we’re married” and was worth 1,000 points. Ironically enough, you could only “pass” the quiz if you had a thousand points or more, meaning you would’ve had to have answered “true” to this question. Another anti-premarital sex rant, cute…just for fun, I decided to read the article.

I can honestly say I have never laughed so hard while being so disgusted. My favorite part was where Mr. Lookadoo discussed the value of virginity, asking this: which car would you rather drive; one in mint condition or one that everybody’s driven and trashed?
…Wait, what?! Are you seriously comparing someone’s body to the backseat of a beat-up Toyota filled with Wendy’s wrappers?

Hilariously appalled, I decided to venture on over to the Lookadoo website, www.lookadoo.com. I found myself somewhat disappointed with its false promises of “explicitly hip and exciting material.” Instead, I found the sad story of a guy who thinks he’s pretty hot stuff (and is painfully wrong). However, he is in fact a bestselling author for his book Dateable and runs the website www.rudateable.com with fellow author Hayley Dimarco. This site actually does have some very exciting material…if you you’re looking to sign over your pride, dignity and sense of enjoyment to God.

Now, I have no problem whatsoever with people who strongly adhere to their faith. On the contrary, I think it’s great when you find something you truly believe in. But if you’re afraid to confidently talk to your crush, play football with the boys or even be independent because you don’t want to upset God, then I think that’s a problem. And those are all things condemned by the Dateable Rules (check them out at http://www.rudateable.com/rules.php). Basically, by these standards a woman is supposed to be quiet, obedient and feminine. The guys’ list is a little different- it encourages being adventurous and keeping women covered up. For example:

Number one for guys: “Being a guy is good. - Dateable guys know they aren’t as sensitive as girls and that’s okay. They know they are stronger, more dangerous, and more adventurous and that’s okay. Dateable guys are real men who aren’t afraid to be guys.”
Versus number one for girls: “Accept your Girly-ness – You’re a girl. Be proud of all that means. You are soft, you are gentle, you are woman. Don’t try to be a guy. Guys like you because you are different from them. So let your girly-ness soar.”

…Yes, I am woman. I’m not soft and gentle, I’m intelligent and have unlimited potential. And for that matter, I’m very much capable of eating an entire platter of nachos. So there. If you’re going to do yourself a single favor, let it be this: never accept this sexist, medieval view of gender roles. Be who you are as a woman, whoever that may be, and be proud of it. By these standards, we should be more than proud to be “undateable.”