Cultural Evolution and Trend-Setters

Beth Bailey is focused in From Front Porch to Back Seat to explode the myth of 'traditional' courtship. While some standards of sexual propriety and distance between the sexes prior to marriage were prevalent in the United States prior to the mid-1960s, the ideals of courtship changed substantially. The twentieth century began without a national youth culture. Most individuals grew up without a concept of being part of a generation and spending most of their time with their communities and with people of all ages.

Once a national youth culture got going, cultural evolution took off on a national scale. The dating system arose in response to a number of social and economic factors but the dating system was rooted in, according to Bailey, the commodification of others and the exchange of money for status. The system developed throughout the century.

Trend-setters ranked among...