I’m 30F. I grew up with significant congenital medical issues and spent most of my 20s focused on engineering and research, so I never really dated. I’ve never been in a relationship, kissed anyone, or had sex. I do want to get married one day, but my medical experiences have also shaped how I think about intimacy. Growing up with hospitals, surgeries, and a lot of physical vulnerability made trust feel especially important to me. Because of that, I don’t think casual dating or hookups are for me—I think I’d need to know someone well and genuinely see a future together before becoming physically intimate. The reason I’m asking is that someone very close to me has had almost the opposite experience. Nearly every man she’s dated or been intimate with was someone she met through clubs, parties, or dating apps, and things usually became physical fairly quickly. Watching that over the years honestly made me start wondering whether that’s just what modern dating looks like now, or whether I’ve mainly been exposed to one particular dating style. I’d really like to hear from men:
- If you weren’t into dating apps or hookup culture, how did you meet your long-term partner or spouse?
- What did the progression of the relationship look like?
- Was taking things slowly—especially physically—fairly normal in your relationship? Would you pass someone over because of this?
- Have you dated someone who had little or no previous relationship or sexual experience? If so, how did you view that? submitted by /u/physsnow
Originally posted by u/physsnow on r/AskMen