Could this explain why we keep getting ghosted?
Over the past few days, one term has been doing the rounds in conversations about modern dating, and according to some, it may help explain why some of us keep getting ghosted.
It’s called ‘Golden Penis Syndrome’, and unfortunately it’s not nearly as nice as it sounds.
The term Golden Penis Syndrome refers to a dating phenomenon that occurs in populations where the amount of heterosexual women greatly outnumber the amount of heterosexual men. It was originally coined by students at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where women make up over 60% of the campus’ population.
The students used the phrase to refer to men in their dating pool who made little effort in their relationships, possibly because they felt like, as men, they were a more scarce population, and therefore had greater options when it comes to dating.
Golden Penis Syndrome was subsequently used by the American journalist Jon Birger to describe the dating habits of some heterosexual men on campuses that have a predominantly female student body.
Birger believes that the scarcity of men on some college campuses may allow them to get away with morally questionable dating habits from bad communication to ghosting to cheating. Birger believes that these habits can follow them far beyond their college years and well into their adult life.
The writer recently told the Daily Mail how these on-campus ratios can result in men treating future relationships as disposable.
He said: “The sex ratios among college-educated, hetero singles in Manhattan is approximately three women for every two men. I’ve interviewed a lot of men who were continuing to take advantage of that imbalance.”
He continued: “We’re seeing a generation of young men who think they’re Adam Driver or Michael B Jordan. Of course, it’s not about them. It’s the ratio.
“When men are in undersupply, the dating culture becomes less monogamous — men are more likely to treat women as sex objects and treat relationships as disposable.”
So, if you feel like you yourself have been treated poorly by someone with Golden Penis Syndrome, what can you do about it? The going advice from psychologists appears to be to focus less on how you can attract your crush, and more on how they can attract you. Are you really that interested in them if this is how they’ll behave? Put yourself first, be assertive, and if they’re not going to treat you right, move on.
