The New Republic contributor Liza Featherstone analyzed dating data to conclude that “climate denial” is becoming a red flag.
THE QUOTE
Under the headline “‘Petromasculinity’ Is Becoming Toxic, Too — at Least to Online Daters,” Featherstone highlighted recently publicized OkCupid data showing that 90% of daters said it’s important for their match to care about climate change.
- According to Featherstone, the finding “suggests that, slowly, new generations of Americans are rejecting petromasculinity: the climate denial, authoritarian politics and sexism that are too often inextricably linked.”
- “Fossil fuels have long been associated with a certain sort of red-blooded, heteronormative, nationalist masculinity: When Sarah Palin yelled, ‘Drill, Baby, Drill,’ in support of exploiting the resources of the Arctic, it was hard to ignore the sexual innuendo,” she wrote.
- “Another cheering finding in OkCupid’s data is that the gender gap isn’t that big. Men don’t want to date climate deniers, either: Climate is the top issue for male respondents, too. … The men of OkCupid, are, it seems, not intimidated by soy boy taunts.”