How are dating patterns affected by media images?

[Remission]

I used to watch MTV a lot (well, it's always on on one of the screens at the gym, so I have no option but to see it when I go in to pump the weights), and witnessed certain interesting trends when I was at university, and I was just wondering if perhaps neurotypical women might be drawn to certain kinds of men based on images presented in the media.  Men presented in certain ways, some to indicate higher sexual and 'cool' status than other kinds of men.  Women always sexualized, and very little representation of minority women in the media.

Or am I being paranoid again?  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Aspergers Girl]

I think you have a fair point.

If a skinny geeky guy became really famous and all the hot girls loved him, more hot girls in real life would follow the "trend".

Its really strange the way how people are such copiers.

A really cool girl started helping out with a special needs boy at lunchtimes in my final year in high school, which was really nice, and all of a sudden all these other girls sarted doing it 

[Remission]

It displeases me that women's dating patterns can be based on fashion because I am so oblivious to fashion myself.

That's not the same as saying that I dress and look like a slob; I have my own style, which is quite acceptable.

But I never listened to R & B or rap or acted in that way at university and so many nice girls fell for all that ghetto trash.

ANd I absolutely hate those noisy smelly nightclubs, where the floors are sticky with spilled alcohol, you can't hear yourself think the music's so loud, and everybody acts like an arrogant ass.

What DO I like?  I like properness, I like middle-class girls, and I like kinkiness.   

[Remission]

I saw a spectacular music video at the gym yesterday.  People were dancing in a nightclub and this black guy spots a pretty dark-haired white girl.  Then the video turned into a kind of animated cartoon, and the black man was totally naked, while the white woman was also naked and hovering in the air like an angel, beckoning to him seductively with her fingers, against a background of ecstasy/LSD-type swirling patterns and shapes.  At the end they eventually hold hands and the black guy closes his eyes in intense pleasure.

I think MTV promotes inter-racials because the 'ideal' sexual couple is a pretty white woman and a masculine black man.

[KingofCorrect]

It displeases me that women's dating patterns can be based on fashion because I am so oblivious to fashion myself.

That's not the same as saying that I dress and look like a slob; I have my own style, which is quite acceptable.

But I never listened to R & B or rap or acted in that way at university and so many nice girls fell for all that ghetto trash.

ANd I absolutely hate those noisy smelly nightclubs, where the floors are sticky with spilled alcohol, you can't hear yourself think the music's so loud, and everybody acts like an arrogant ass.

What DO I like?  I like properness, I like middle-class girls, and I like kinkiness.   

Don't worry my sex-obsessed friend. Women eventually settle down and date/ marry a guy who is reasonably attractive, will put up with them, provide for them, and will support them when they need it.  They do the bad boy thing while they can b/c they know they have to eventually stick to one guy. So date older women, they are more interested in sex and are less concerned with a relationship

[Felgen]

I get the impression that high school students are the ones who are the most affected by the media. High school girls go for the wannabe gangster because they see him in reality shows and in music videos, high school boys go for the bimbo because they see her in video games and in music videos.

[AspieGirl85]

I was never affected by the media.  I love the media but I never used it to define me.  I am my own person.

[zenemu]

The media can have a huge influence on people; it is simply a question of subject matter and what happens to be important to you. Look at the MMR Vaccine issue for example - a 90% reduction in the number of parents who would allow their children to have the MMR vaccine, all based on a financially motivated hoax, perpetrated by Andrew Wakefield based on a very shoddy study, but the media fell for it all over the world, and so did parents. Sadly, despite evidence to the contrary, media disinterest means that many parents still believe Wakefield’s work is gospel, so seemingly it works both ways.

[MM]

So the whole vaccine causes autism is nothing but a load crap.  I wonder why I did not see it comming

[zenemu]

A brief overview of the MMR scare history if anyone is interested: http://zenemu.com/2011/01/autism-revisiting-the-mmr-myth/

It does go to show though, just how much the media can influence peoples lives and how much damage an irresponsible media can cause.