Recent research highlights a striking aspect of contemporary dating: a particular factor can turn your Prince Charming into an unappealing option.
We all have our personal ‘icks’—those behaviors or habits that can instantly make us lose interest in someone.
While I generally believe in accepting human quirks, I must admit that if I caught my fiancée indulging in certain unhygienic habits, it could be a dealbreaker even after eight years together.
However, a new study in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships reveals a more significant reason for ending a relationship.
Researchers from the University of Göttingen and the University of Jena in Germany analyzed data from over 13,000 heterosexual single women in 144 countries, using responses from the ‘Ideal Partner Survey’.
The study found that women with strong political beliefs are much more likely to value political alignment over romance when choosing a partner.
Women on the far-left were the most particular, with 47 percent preferring to remain single over dating someone with opposing political views.
On the other hand, 41 percent of right-leaning women shared this sentiment, while only 22 percent of politically moderate women—those who oppose radical or extreme political and religious stances—considered politics a dealbreaker.
The study authors noted, “Political orientation is related to many aspects of our lives,” and that “Women holding more extreme political views showed the strongest preferences for political similarity.”
The research also revealed that conservative women tend to prioritize traditional values, such as religion, shared ethnicity, financial stability, and career success in a partner.
Conversely, women on the left placed less emphasis on these traditional values. Regardless of politics, kindness and supportiveness were universally essential traits.
The research also surprised with its findings on height preferences. Most women seemed to prefer taller partners, but conservatives were especially inclined to prioritize height. The researchers linked this to an attraction to the ‘masculine, male breadwinner stereotype’.
Penn State political scientist Pete Hatemi pointed out that “couples assort on politics more than any other trait in the last 20 years”.
According to the New York Post, he stated, “You’re more likely to have a long-term partner that you don’t find very attractive than one that has opposite political views on highly important topics.”
Laura Nelson, a sociology professor at the University of British Columbia, explained, “Left vs. right is not just about who you will vote for. It’s tied to different—and competing—conceptions of morality. When you think about who you want to build a life with … it would be shocking if political beliefs were not correlated with partner preferences.”