Ask your crush out. It seems like a simple enough task, right? Well, a British blogger is asking women to do exactly that.
The internet lit up last week when British relationship blogger Dami Olonisakin — who is known as ‘Oloni’ online — took to Twitter with a call to action for her female followers: muster up the courage to ask out their crushes once and for all, then share the screenshots on social media with the tag #DateChallenge.
Here’s what Oloni had to say about her challenge on Instagram: “It’s been dubbed as the new Sadie Hawkins dance and I couldn’t agree more! Last night on Twitter after a little push I asked women to message a guy they fancied, #DateChallenge and to ask him out on a date..but also post a screenshot. I did it to help make women more confident within themselves, men love it, and to remind them that it’s 2017, women can make the first move. Although men have always been described as hunters, it doesn’t change the fact that they’re still human and get cold feet. Why wait for something to come to you when you can go and get it?”
Good point.
The results of the #DateChallenge were both encouraging and eye-opening.
Many of the responses were positive — like when Twitter user, Fayola Purcell asked her crush out via text.
#datechallenge
? pic.twitter.com/2SAGQb7v99— Fayola Purcell (@fayolaisirie) October 29, 2017
Excuse me while I swoon!
However, some of the responses were less than favorable. One man responded by saying that he’d “rather die” (not cool, dude) and another pointed out that the timing was off, as he was “getting married next week” (ouch.) Predictably, there was also a slew of pervy messages that suggested a date should include various body parts and unmentionable acts.
Despite the mixed responses, we should still consider the #DateChallenge a raucous success. Here’s why we should all ask out our crushes – for better or worse.
1. You get an answer.
The unrequited longing of a crush can feel torturous. Finally asking someone out puts an end to all of that waiting and wondering – and sometimes that’s exactly what you need. Even if the answer you get isn’t the answer you want, at least you know where the other person stands and can move forward with your life.
2. It’s empowering.
Instead of waiting around for someone else to make the first move, you’re taking the bull by the horns. After all, you can’t get what you don’t ask for, right?
3. Men want to you to make the first move.
According to Match.com’s annual Singles in America study, 95 percent of single men ages 18 to 70+ are in favor of a woman initiating the first kiss and also asking for a guy’s phone number. So, what are you waiting for? Take the pressure off the other person and ask first.
4. It will provide you with the closure you so desperately need.
Crushes have the tendency to drag on and take up huge swaths of emotional energy. So, while no one wants to receive a rude and humiliating response like the ones mentioned above, how someone chooses to respond to you says more about them than you. Negative responses help us let go and move on to other people who are interested in our affection.
5. They might just say yes.
Life is short. If you don’t ask your crush out now, then when? Keep in mind: they might just say yes and you’ll wonder why you didn’t ask sooner.
