Dating in the current economy

According to this article in today's Washington Post, the state of the economy has drastically affected heterosexual dating (and as loyal Post readers know, that's the only kind). It appears that straight dating rituals will dramatically de-emphasize the "Look at how wealthy I am"/"How wealthy are you?" aspect. That being the case, gay men can provide a model for others.

Say what you like about gay male dating, but acknowledge this much: It is comparatively pretty unusual for a gay man to flaunt his material success to get a date, and in doing so, he would much more likely alienate than attract other gay men. Of course, we can often go too far in the opposite direction, in which physical type makes the world go around and in which even acknowledging employment can be horribly politically incorrect. Still, those gay men who do get past "Dude, how often do you work out?" can concentrate on qualities that survive the recession rather than on who can treat whom to the most expensive drinks.