When it comes to paying for the first date, Americans tend to have similar opinions about who should pay, regardless of whether it’s a heterosexual or homosexual couple in question
When it comes to dating etiquette and marital traditions, many Americans aren’t sure if heterosexual and homosexual couples should follow the same practices. When asked about practices like sharing a last name, purchasing engagement rings, and paying for a first date, Americans tend to have different opinions about how important these practices are for heterosexual couples and homosexual couples.
New data from YouGov Omnibus shows that 43% of Americans say it’s important for a heterosexual married couple to share a last name, compared to only 20% who say it’s important for a homosexual couple to share a last name.
Close to half (44%) of Americans say that when a man and a woman get married, the best approach is to have the woman take the man’s last name. But when it came to same-sex couples, people were less sure what the ideal situation should be.
For a marriage between two women, 18% say that each woman should keep her own last name, 13% say they should create a hyphenated last name for both of them, 11% say that they should both take whichever last name sounds better, 3% say they should create a new last name related to their previous last names, and 2% say they should create a new last name altogether. But one in five people (20%) say that none of these options are the best approach.
For a marriage between two men, the responses are similar: 19% say both men should keep their own last names, 11% say they should create a hyphenated last name, 11% say they should both take whichever last name sounds better, but 20% say that none of the available options are the best approach.
When it comes to choosing engagement rings and wedding bands, 44% of people think that the best thing for a male-female couple to do is choose the rings together. When it comes to two women getting married, 29% of people thought they should choose the rings together; an equal percentage think this is the best practice for two men getting married as well.
About one in ten people think that when same-sex couples go ring shopping, each partner should choose and purchase the other person’s rings. Fifteen percent of people thought this was the best option for heterosexual couples as well.
But long before the engagement rings and the discussion of what last name to share, there’s the beginning of it all: the first date.
When it comes to paying for the first date, Americans tend to have largely similar opinions about who should pay, regardless of whether it’s a heterosexual or homosexual couple in question.
When a man and a woman go on a first date, 33% of Americans think whichever person initiated the date should pay. People have largely similar responses when asked about two women going on a date (36% thought the woman who initiated should pay), and when asked about two men going on a first date (37% thought the man who initiated should pay).
See full results here.
Learn more about YouGov Omnibus.
Image: Getty
