• dating donts

Dating Don’ts: 5 Tips For The Highly Allergic Dater

Dating Don'ts: Online Realities
Some things you might not know about online dating. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Musicians
dating musicians
Be forewarned before you date a musician. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Cleaning
Simple ways to spring clean your love life. Read More »

Spring is in the air – and in your nose. You sneeze, ooze, and actively resist the urge to claw your itching eyes out. That is, if you’re allergic like me. I cope with an assortment of antihistamines and avoidance tactics: yes, I’m totally fine NOT going outside today, or for the next three weeks! My brother jokes that he should build a portable bubble for me to live in during pollen season, and some days I really would prefer to hibernate in a hypoallergenic biosphere for the entire spring and summer. It’s just that I’m single. So I can’t. There are dates to be had.

Living with allergies, I’ve learned to avoid any of the following: cats (or people in coats covered with cat hair); shrimp, oysters, and any other annoying member of the shellfish family; fresh strawberries and apples. Damn farmer’s market! Having allergies is simply part of who I am – who needs to go apple picking anyway? But to a non-allergic person, like that Jon Hamm lookalike who asked me out, I fear coming off like a human science experiment. For highly allergic people everywhere, here are some tips for navigating your spring/summer dates: Keep reading »

Dating Don’ts: 12 Things To Know About Dating A Musician

Dating Don'ts: In Bed
Don't ever say these things in bed. Read More »
Anal Sex Songs
anal sex songs
We think these supposedly clean pop songs are actually about anal. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Money
These bad money habits are bad news. Read More »
dating musicians

A few years ago, I had to swear off dating musicians. I’d been dating them since high school, both casual guitar-noodlers and career musicians who had songs on CW shows and their faces on T-shirts. Again and again I’d fall for the sensitive guitar player who wears eyeliner … and again and again the same patterns would repeat themselves that led to us breaking up. I have nothing but the nicest things to say about most of them as people. Don’t take my swearing-off musicians as a warning, per se. On the contrary, my loss is your gain — the more for you! Just make sure you know these 12 details first. Keep reading »

Dating Don’ts: The Case For Doing Nothing

Dating Don'ts: Travel
The DOs and DONT's of travel hookups. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Functions
How open should you be about poop and stuff? Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Cleaning
Simple ways to spring clean your love life. Read More »

I have something I need to get off my chest. I’m experiencing pangs of guilt about writing about dating when I’m no longer doing it. I wake up some mornings and feel like I’m the Benedict Arnold of the single population. During my time at The Frisky, I have gone through pockets of non-singleness, but for the most part I have been single and proud to be so, with moments of not-proud-to be so. I’ve written about the ups and downs of that, but mostly, I accepted and embraced singlehood. I cultivated an identity around it.

As much as I griped about having to sleep on the pull-out couch every Christmas (that did genuinely suck), as much as I blamed myself for being single, as much as I kicked and screamed my way through online dating, as many times as I gave up and went on dating hiatuses, the truth is that I liked being single. I liked being free to hang out with friends, or go to hot yoga, or wake up as early as I felt like on a Sunday morning (I never sleep past 8 a.m). I liked reading my books on the subway and always being in charge of what to watch on Netflix live streaming. Season 3 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” at 7 a.m. on Saturday?  WERK!  I liked making unilateral decisions about everything in my life because, seriously, it’s the height of personal freedom. It’s something that everyone should experience. It’s a state of being to be savored for as long as it lasts. Keep reading »

Dating Don’ts: How Not To Not Have A Travel Romance

Dating Don'ts: Functions
How open should you be about poop and stuff? Read More »
Wanderlust Week
It's time for a vacay! The Frisky can help you find the perfect destination. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Cleaning
Simple ways to spring clean your love life. Read More »

I’m an avid backpacker/compulsive traveler. I’m an overly optimistic dreamer who has quite seriously hypothesized that (a) mermaids exist, and (b) if you run fast enough and cry hard enough, Bradley Cooper just might chase you around a street corner and scream “I love you.” I tend to believe that smiley face emoticons in emails are one step away from a marriage proposal. For the most part, my world view serves me well, except perhaps, when it comes to travel romances. From my personal experiences, I would like to share with you some helpful DONT’s and DO’s of flinging while abroad. Keep reading »

Dating Don’ts: How Open Should You Be About Bodily Functions?

Gross Bathroom Behavior
toilet
We don't want to admit it, but we do these gross things in the bathroom. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Cleaning
Simple ways to spring clean your love life. Read More »
Female Farts
Some common types of female farts. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Love Crazed?
How not to be one of those annoying, love-crazed types. Read More »

The Frisky HQ is under construction for the next couple of days so I was planning on working from home. Then yesterday, my internet crapped out and I found myself running to the local coffee shop in my pajamas. Six hours later, I was still sitting in my pajamas. It was an interesting day. There was a blind date that I eavesdropped on for a while. I thought that would be the subject of this week’s Dating Don’ts. Then the Boston Marathon bombing happened and the mood turned dark. I sat in silence for a while, watching CNN. My roommate was next to me, because she had the day off of work to study for a grad school exam. She eventually interrupted the silence to confess that she’s been watching that new show “Ready For Love.” Someone needed to cut the tension.

I laughed. But she was like, “Don’t laugh! They had this whole bit about how you should never say the word ‘fart’ on a date. It was interesting.” Then we got into an in-depth discussion about bodily functions and dating. Because these are the things that people sometimes talk about when terrible things happen in the world. Keep reading »

Dating Don’ts: How Not To Be That Annoying, Love-Crazed Person

Dating Don'ts: Just One
All it takes is one good date. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Fatigue
When dating fatigue sets it, it's a bitch. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: The L Word
There are certain times when "I love you" doesn't count. Read More »

I keep blinking my eyes. Splashing cold water on my face. Waiting to wake up from the cinematic dream sequence which has been my life for the last three weeks. It all started when I ran into an old friend from college on the subway and the next thing I knew, my love life went from black and white to technicolor in a poof, like when Dorothy landed over the rainbow. So. Yeah. Hi! Greetings from over the rainbow. Colors are brighter here. Food tastes better. Dogs and babies and munchkins all have secret messages just for you. Time is measured in hand holds and kisses and the breeze decides which direction you walk.

I’m trying desperately to make sense of it all. But I fear I have become one of those people: the love-crazed fool who you want to punch in her stupid, shmoopy face. Even in my state of euphoria, I recognize that my type can be terribly annoying. Should you ever find yourself over the rainbow, A) Enjoy it! and B) Try to keep it together so the rest of the world doesn’t want to murder you. Here are some thoughts about how to do that… Keep reading »

Dating Don’ts: All It Takes Is One

Dating Don'ts Hall Of Fame
These dating columns are worth a second read. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Fatigue
When dating fatigue sets it, it's a bitch. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Gratitude
Don't forget to be grateful. Read More »

One day, you’ll be leaving work, your limbs heavy with dating fatigue. You’ll trudge to the subway with a sourness in your soul. I’m done with dating, you’ll whisper into to the dank subway air. That’s it. I will live underground in the subway tunnels like those mole people and never have to sit through another awkward round of drinks again. You’ll be so wrapped up in your self-pitying reverie that you’ll miss the train. You’ll, swear, gnaw on your cheek, hating yourself for thinking like this and wait for the next one.

Moments later, you’ll notice a man on the platform standing next to you and feel drawn to him like a super-duty magnet. He’ll pull you with great gravitational force onto the same subway car as him and you’ll sit across from him. He’ll pull out the NY Post. And you’ll think No one reads the paper anymore. But this guy does. He’s the last paper reader alive. 

You’ll study his face, this paper reading unicorn, taking it in, trying to make sense of it. He has kind eyes. His mouth is fixed in a perma-smirk. When his smirk spreads to a smile, you’ll realize you recognize that smile. You know him!? This realization will untether you. This is someone you know?! But how? From where? Keep reading »

15 Dating Don’ts Worth Reading Again

Our Year In Dating
As told in pop culture GIF form. Read More »
The Frisky Turns 5!
Happy 5th birthday to The Frisky! Read More »

I was having dinner with a friend the other night and I was in the middle of a rant about dating fatigue when our waitress, a beautiful and statuesque 20-something women, strode over to our table and said, “I hear you. It just never ends.”

We all nodded at each other, wordlessly, exchanging sympathetic I feel your pain looks.

Dating is so complicated it’s a wonder that people continue to do it. Navigating through all the awkwardness and nuances of romantic, human interactions requires a compass, or at the very least, a forum to vent.This is why our Dating Don’ts column is important. We could probably write dating how-not-to’s for another ten and never run out of topics to discuss. For The Frisky’s 5th birthday, I’ve rounded up some of the best dating tips we’ve given. It never hurts to brush up. Share your favorite Dating Don’ts moments in the comments or suggest some topics you’d like to see covered. And keep on keeping on, daters. We’re here for you. Keep reading »

Dating Don’ts: When Dating Fatigue Sets In

Dating Don'ts: Vine
Beware scaring off potential suitors on Vine. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Online
Guys! You're making so many mistakes! Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Commitment
Let's talk about the "C" word. Read More »

I had all sorts of hope when I decided to start dating again after a long hiatus. For the first week, all the online profiles seemed shiny and new, like clickable Christmas presents. I was excited to check my email and see what gifts were waiting under my tree, so to speak.

“You have great style!” “I like Rilke too.” “What kind of writing do you do?” “Want to grab some wine?”

YES! YES! YES! Unwrapping feverishly. Options galore. Hark! The herald angels sing!

Two weeks have passed and I’m like a sulking child, facing the reality that Christmas is fleeting. All discarded tinsel and bows and presents that are no longer new. I’m left to grapple with more disturbing questions like: Why can’t I find it within myself to be attracted to short men? WHY? 

I’m talking about when dating fatigue sets. When you’ve binged on dating to the point of nausea. Every profile tastes the same to you. Steaming heaps of pictures of him traveling through India. At a friend’s wedding. His love of Michael Chabon. The Macbook pro he can’t live without. The kind of whiskey he likes to drink. You can’t keep stats straight anymore. Who’s looking for an intelligent woman with a wicked sense of humor and who’s looking for a partner in crime again? You don’t remember. You just show up at the wine bar and figure out who he is once you get there. Keep reading »

Dating Don’ts: 7 Types Of Vine Videos That Will Almost Certainly Scare Dates Away

Dating Don'ts: Commitment
Let's talk about the "C" word. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Facebook
You should never post these things on his Facebook page. NEVER. Read More »
Dating Don'ts: Gratitude
Don't forget to be grateful. Read More »

Forget Instagram! Vine is the new social media hot spot. Six second videos from all your best digital friends? Sign me up. As long as they’re interesting, that is. As a general rule of thumb in social media, no one wants to see mundane posts about your Friday night viewing of “Bridesmaids” or a rundown of what you had for breakfast. And that’s no different with Vine—in fact, there’s even more to consider when sharing live-action shots. In Vine’s short life, I’ve already seen all types of overshares—from a fork-to-mouth video to a toothbrushing/flossing supercut. If you want to come off cool and savvy – and don’t want to scare away potential love interests, you who you might be interested in dating, shy away from these Vine faux-pas … Keep reading »