Going ‘gluten-free’ has become a fashionable lifestyle choice for many young women and men.
But those who shun the ingredient – found in wheat and some other grains – could find it harder on the dating scene. It seems that listing a gluten-free diet on a dating profile can deter potential partners.
Two studies found that gluten-free individuals were seen as being ‘high maintenance, picky, demanding, complaining and judgmental’.
Among the most damning criticisms were that they were ‘selfish, entitled, demanding, arrogant, difficult to please or concerned about their appearance’. On the plus side, though, they were also thought to be ‘healthy, self-disciplined, understanding and energetic’. Men who were on a gluten-free diet were judged to be unmanly.
The authors, led by Maya Aloni of Western Connecticut State University, carried out two studies. In the first, 161 people were surveyed to assess their interest in dating gluten-free individuals. The second study, of 132 people, used a mock dating website and measured evaluations of the individuals.
The authors found in both studies, gluten-free individuals ‘were perceived as having positive and negative attributes’ but added that the diet led to ‘more negative judgments of men’.