"What women want," take umptillion

His name is James and he's a romantic, marriage-ready firefighter, says the Daily Mail.

Published May 1, 2008 9:30AM (EDT)

Oh, yes, another study claiming to have the answer to what women really, really want. This new survey says that every woman's hope is to, by the age of 25, land a romantic and loving husband named James, who works as a fireman and calls her "princess," according to the Daily Mail. In other related news: Brain-eating bacterium is attacking the world's female population and, curiously, causing delusions that they are the heroine of a Cinderella story turned softcore porn.

Or, so one might suspect if it weren't the case that the Daily Mail's coverage of this study should be taken with, say, every grain of salt in all of Salzburg.

This More Magazine survey of 2,400 young British women compiles a list of "the ideal man's name" (e.g., James, Daniel and Ben), "the ideal man's job" (e.g., fireman, soccer player and lawyer), "top 10 pet names for him" (e.g., Babe, Honeybun and Tiger) and "top 10 pet names for her" (e.g., Princess, Baby and Angel). It should go without saying that, despite the Daily Mail's hyperbolic hook, these fluffy top 10 lists do nothing to sketch the blueprint of every women's perfect man -- because, of course, he doesn't exist.

But the survey does reveal some more interesting stats. Only 36 percent of women in their late teens and early 20s believe it's best to love someone before sleeping with them, and the average 25-year-old has had five sex partners. But, before you succumb to ever-popular hookup hand-wringing, consider that 88 percent said they really just want a long-term relationship and 94 percent want to eventually marry. What's more, 90 percent say "love, affection and romance" are the most essential part of a relationship. If we're to draw anything from this survey, it might be that while young women of the so-called hookup generation are having casual sex in their early 20s, they're ultimately looking for lurve.


By Tracy Clark-Flory

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