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ITF readers forecast the future of love in a time of conflict


We asked:

What’s the toughest difference for a couple to bridge?

  • Investment Banker / Yoga Instructor
  • Southerner / Yankee
  • Republican / Democrat
  • Boston Red Sox fan / New York Yankees fan

    Almost 70 percent of you thought the political divide between Republicans and Democrats was the greatest obstacle to romance. Second place, at 20 percent, was the yawning chasm between Red Sox and Yankees fans.

    We asked:

    What will the status of gay marriage be in five years?

  • Gay couples will be allowed to marry.
  • There will be a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
  • Gay couples will be allowed civil unions but not marriages.
  • It will continue being arbitrated in the courts.

    Forty-two percent of you were optimistic that gay couples would be allowed to marry in five years, while the rest were evenly divided over whether gays would be allowed civil unions or whether the issue would still be in the courts.

    We asked:

    How do you think you’ll meet your soul mate?

  • Through friends
  • On Friendster or another Internet meeting site
  • On some form of public transportation
  • Arrangement by family members

    Almost 70 percent thought they would meet their soul mate through friends. For the 20 percent of you who thought they would meet their soul mate on public transportation, I hope you don’t drive to work.

    We asked:

    In ten years, how will heterosexual marriages have changed?

  • More men will be raising children.
  • Men will have groom’s showers, where they’ll receive household items.
  • Men and women will have more flexible schedules so they can share child-raising responsibilities.
  • Women will raise children and do most of the housework.

    According to 42 percent of respondents, flexi-schedules will enable child-raising responsibilities to be more shared in 10 years, while 38 percent thought there would be more Mr. Moms. Only our editor-in-chief thinks that men will have groom’s showers where they get blenders. But maybe that’s just wishful thinking since he just tied the knot and still has visions of gifts dancing in his head …

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