Lindsey Blog #2

Both "Courting Confusion" and "The Worth of a Date" seemed to me to be an informal research essay. It seemed to me that they were out to "prove" a point instead to discover a point. For example, in "Courting Confusion" the author states that "the prominence of the hook-up in these women's lives is a sign of an impoverished social scene-impoverished socially, romantically, and even erotically" and i felt that the author's mind was made up at the very beginning that even though courtship is an antiqued phenomenon, romance itself is losing its way. These research essays, as i staed earlier, seemed informal. the research done was not very academic and the sources sited in "The Worth of a Date" are from magazines written at the time. although this may prove socially significant with survey's in them done, it seemed to me like these essays were not meant for academia but rather a socially wide context. i also felt as though the entire essays were the authors voice, which is one more reason why i feel these essays are informal. For example, in "Courting Confusion" the author states that "the dissolution of many of the older rituals was no doubt a necessary step toward egalitarian relationships" with no back-up of why these rituals are too outdated to work, even though right now there is a "lack of tradition for channeling and reflecting on erotic desires". if the author thinks that courtship is so outdated, he/she should provide an idea of what could be done instead.