The Language of Singles Bars
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8729409 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas E Murray (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1985 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 17-17 |
| Publication date | 1985-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Speech (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-1283 • E-ISSN: 1527-2133 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/454644 |
| OpenAlex | W2322668105 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
A LTHOUGH HUMAN BEINGS have been going to barrooms for generations in search of romantic encounters of various kinds, SINGLES BAR as we know it today is usually traced to early 1960s. As name implies, singles bars-also known sometimes as CRUISE BARS or DATING BARS-are places to which heterosexual singles (or people who wish to appear single) go to meet other unattached persons, perhaps with intention of finding mate, but usually with motives more hedonistic than nuptial.' As Anson (1981, p. 89) says, singles bars built for pleasure: they provide atmosphere for the ritual that tries to turn strangers into lovers.As sexual mores changed, by early 1970s singles bars were described as having definite norms of deference and decorum and unwritten rules, flouting of which was perceived as tamper[ing] with social order (Humanizing Meat Market, p. 11). And just few years later, Homer (1979, p. 205) noted that the singles bar has evolved into total subculture, complete with its own modes of dress, behavior, and (mostly coded) language. It is this last-named topic-the language of singles bars-to which I would like to give some attention in this essay. Perhaps predictably, literature on language used in singles bars is scanty: subject has never been treated professionally, and popular accounts are woefully inadequate. A woman cited in Time magazine (The Body Shop, p. 45) mentions importance of haptics-The body friction is enough to get everybody going-but says little else; Kronenberger (1968, p. 80) claims that a lot of hustling goes on,but gives no linguistic correlates to that hustling; San Francisco patron states only that person's language must be polite, not too obscene or direct (Dating Bars, p. 47); Chicago researcher maintains that importance of eye-contact cannot be overestimated, particularly for women (Humanizing Meat Market, p. 11); and Anson (1981, p. 90) concludes that whether singles bars courtships are clumsy or smooth, [they have] programmed feel: Put in data, you get answer, but he makes no mention of what constitutes right data. The most thorough source of information on language of singles bars is Homer (1979, pp. 204-12), whose general glossary of sex talk includes some singles-bars terminology. He says that it tends to be somewhat humorless, much of it reflecting unending pursuit for partnership that takes place in singles bars, much of it reflecting the utmost
Linguistics · Sociology · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,13 |
| Citation span | 1988 - 2022 (35) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |