Study Finds Women Would Rather Stay Single Than Date Across Political Lines

Politics Over Partnership
A new international study suggests that for many women, politics matters more than romance. Researchers from the University of Göttingen and the University of Jena analyzed responses from over 13,000 single women in 144 countries and discovered a striking trend: a large share of women would rather remain single than date someone with opposing political views.

The study, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, found that nearly half of left-leaning women—47 percent—said they would prefer to stay single than pursue a relationship with someone whose political beliefs clash with their own. On the right, 41 percent of conservative women agreed. Only 22 percent of politically moderate women said differing views would be a dealbreaker.

Shared Values Take Priority
Researchers noted that women with stronger political convictions—whether liberal or conservative—placed a higher importance on ideological alignment than those with more centrist perspectives. “Political orientation is related to many aspects of our lives,” the authors wrote. “Women holding more extreme political views showed the strongest preferences for political similarity.”

The study also revealed broader patterns: conservative women valued religion, financial stability, and shared ethnicity more highly, while liberal women placed less emphasis on those traits. Across the board, however, kindness and emotional support remained universal priorities.

A Modern Dating Divide
Penn State political scientist Pete Hatemi observed that couples today “assort on politics more than any other trait.” He added, “You’re more likely to have a long-term partner you don’t find very attractive than one with opposite political views.”

Sociologist Laura Nelson of the University of British Columbia explained that political alignment goes deeper than party labels. “Left vs. right is tied to competing conceptions of morality,” she said. “It shapes who people want to build a life with.”