Beth BaileyÆs text From Front Porch to Back Seat on the dating system in early 20th Century Americaùbefore the sexual revolution of the late 1960sùattempts to explain the social meaning of the transition from ôcallingö to ôdating.ö A man ôcalledö on a woman at her home, a private space, with the idea of romance or courtship and/or marriage and sex. Over the years, this type of male/female encounter changed into ôdating,ö a private relationship in a public space. In large measure, Bailey attributes this transition in American courtship or dating patterns to the values of a consumer society. ôAs it emerged in the twentieth century, courtship largely was construed and understood in models and metaphors of modern industrial capitalismö (5). Bailey, however, does not consider courtship to be a ôeconomically determined modelö in spite of its relation to the marketplace, but perceives the themes of courtship as historical and cultural constructs (5).
There are several sociological theories that help explain the transition from calling to dating. One is the political/economic model. A second is the institutionalized rational exchange of resources. A third is the Social Exchange Theory, a social science theory that has been applied to the study of human sexuality. According to Susan Sprecher (1998), there are specific exchange theory models that apply to sexuality: equity theory, the Investment Model, and the Interpersonal Model of Sexual Satisfaction (32). The equity theory is applicable to BaileyÆs study. According to Bailey, partners in the dating system are more interested in outcomes; they factor the costs in with the anticipated rewards. This theoretical perspective considers dating and sexuality as a negotiation between two people in their relationship.
Bailey is concerned with exploring the question of ôwhat is the proper relationship between men and womenö (2). To understand this, she examines the A...