By Victoria Rollison
Are you single because your man requirements are too high? Or is there really not enough men to go around fairly. Rescu. fishes around to see if there really is a man drought.
“There’s plenty more fish in the sea…”
How many times have you heard this and wanted to scream, “Really? Then where the heck are they?”
Dating is meant to be exciting and fun! Us single girls are fabulous, independent and in control! We’re meant to have the choice of various fish, and throw the ones back we don’t want. So why does this seem not to be the case? Is it possible we are being too picky? Or is there really a man shortage?
The Australian Man Drought
Trends commentator Bernard Salt explained in an ABC article that there are “9,000 more 30-something women than men in Australia”. Oh dear.
One of the reasons he gives for this drought is the internationalising of the labour market, which is tempting more and more Aussie men to leave our shores and work overseas.
Mr Salt tries to console us after this terrible news by saying that women in their 20s do not suffer from a man drought, as they are approached by men of all ages. And he goes on to encourage women in their 30s to leave the capital cities in search of men in regional areas, where there is an oversupply. I don’t know about you, but neither of those comments seems to me terribly useful to a single woman in her 30s! Why should we leave our homes, jobs and lifestyle in search of men? Surely there is a better answer. Is it possible we just need to be a bit more open minded about a potential match?
Broadening our horizons
There is a fine line between being ‘too picky’ and ‘lowering our standards’. For instance, if you are expecting to find Mr. Perfect, you are being too picky. This doesn’t mean you should date someone unsuitable or unattractive just to prove you aren’t limiting your options. Use your ‘pickiness’ as a guide, but be open to meeting men who fall a little outside of your perfect standards.
One major problem for many single women is that their lifestyles limit the number of single men they meet. Are you fishing in the same small pond every weekend?
Try to broaden your social group by taking up a new hobby, joining a club or meeting up with friends you haven’t seen in years. This is the best way of increasing your chances of coming across single men you may hit it off with.
And before you throw in the towel and decide it’s all too hard, take another look at Mr Salt’s figures. There are only 9,000 more of us out there than them. That’s a drop in the ocean when you think of the hundreds of thousands of single people in your city. So don’t despair, the ocean will one day provide the fish you are looking for. And in the meantime, you may as well have some fun fishing!