View source for Flirting

{{short description|Social behavior that suggests interest in a deeper relationship with the other person}}
{{For|other uses of "Flirting", "Flirtation", and "Flirt"|Flirt (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Sweet nothings|other uses|Sweet Nothings (disambiguation)}}

[[Image:Das werdenSie ja nachher schon sehen.jpg|thumb|A poster by [[Henri Gerbault]] depicting flirting between a man and a woman]]

'''Flirting''' or '''coquetry''' is a [[Social behavior|social]] and [[Human sexual activity|sexual behavior]] involving [[body language]], or spoken or written communication between humans. It is used to suggest interest in a deeper relationship with another person and for amusement. Flirting can change in intention as well as intensity, whether it is harmless fun, or employed with the design of seeking a romantic or sexual relationship.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wade |first1=T. Joel |last2=Fisher |first2=Maryanne L. |last3=Kenny |first3=Karla |title=Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior |date=2023 |publisher=[[Springer, Cham]] |isbn=978-3-031-08956-5 |pages=1–10 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_177-1 |language=en |chapter=Flirting |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-08956-5_177-1}}</ref> 

A person might flirt with another by speaking or behaving in such a way that suggests their desire to increase [[intimacy]] in their current [[personal relationship|relationship]] with that person. The approach may include communicating a sense of playfulness, irony, or by using [[double entendre]]s.

[[File:Jealousy and Flirtation.jpg|thumb|A study in [[body language]]: [[Haynes King (painter)|Haynes King]]'s ''Jealousy and Flirtation'']]
[[File:Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant in Monkey Business trailer 3.JPG|thumb|right|Laurel (played by [[Marilyn Monroe]]) flirting with Dr. Fulton (played by [[Cary Grant]]) in the film ''[[Monkey Business (1952 film)|Monkey Business]]'' (1952)]]

== Etymology ==
The origin of the word "[[wikt:flirt|flirt]]" is unknown. The first use of the word dates to 1580—with the intransitive "[[wikt:flit|flit]]" and the noun form—ca 1590—with the transitive "[[wikt:flick|flick]]".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flirting#h2 | title=flirt | publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary | accessdate=6 May 2023 | quote=The first known use of flirt was in 1580}}</ref>

Flirt has been attributed to the French ''[[wikt:conter fleurette|conter fleurette]]'', meaning to woo. ''Fleurette'', meaning small flower, was used in the 16th century in some sonnets<ref>{{cite book|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5734760f/f340.image|title=La famine, ou Les Gabéonites, tragédie prise de la Bible et suivant celle de Saül, ensemble plusieurs autres oeuvres poëtiques de Jehan de La Taille de Bondaroy...|author1=La Taille, Jean de|author2=Arioste, L'|author3=La Taille, Jacques de|date=9 August 1573|via=[[Gallica]]}}</ref> and texts, and has since fallen out of use.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6274152x/f826.image|title=Les bigarrures et touches du seigneur des Accords . Avec les Apophtegmes du sieur Gaulard et les Escraignes dijonnoises. Dernière édition, reveue et de beaucoup augmentée|author1=Tabourot, Étienne|author2=Tabourot, Étienne|date=9 August 2018|via=Gallica}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k72423n/f73.image|title=Les muses incognues ou La seille aux bourriers plaine de désirs et imaginations d'amour : réimprimé textuellement et collationné sur l'exemplaire existant à la Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal à Paris ([Reprod. en fac-sim.]) / recueil de poésies satyriques de Béroalde de Verville, de Guy de Tours, de Gauchet, de Berthelot, de Motin, etc.|author1=Guy de Tours|author2=Berthelot|author3=Béroalde de Verville, François|author4=Gauchet, Claude|date=9 August 2018|via=Gallica}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65869952/f690.image|title=Les comédies facécieuses de Pierre de Larivey, champenois . A l'imitation des anciens Grecs, Latins, & modernes Italiens. A sçavoir, le Laquais, la Veuve, les Esprits, le Morfondu, les Escolliers|author=Larivey, Pierre de|date=9 August 2018|via=Gallica}}</ref> This expression is still used in French, often mockingly, although the English [[loanword]], "to flirt''",'' is in the common vernacular. Flirting in the English language has the same meaning as to "conter fleurette".<ref>{{cite web |author=Académie de Nîmes |date=9 August 1876 |title=Mémoires de l'Académie royale du Gard |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k486334v/f532.item |via=Gallica}}https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vernacular

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/woo</ref>

== Historical context ==
During World War II, anthropologist [[Margaret Mead]] was working in Britain for the British [[Ministry of Information (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Information]] and later for the U.S. [[United States Office of War Information|Office of War Information]],<ref name="uk">{{cite book
  | last = Mead
  | first = Margaret
  | editor=William O. Beeman
  | title = Studying Contemporary Western Society: Method and Theory
  | publisher = Berghahn Books
  | year = 2004
  | location = New York
  | pages = 145, 149
  | isbn = 978-1-57181-816-4}}</ref><ref>
Mead's article, ''A Case History in Cross-National Communications'', was originally published in {{cite book
  | last = Bryson
  | first = Lyman
  | title = The Communication of Ideas
  | publisher = Institute for Religious and Social Studies, dist. by Harper and Brothers
  | year = 1948
  | location = New York
  | oclc=1488507 }}</ref> delivering speeches and writing articles to help [[Americans|American]] soldiers better understand British civilians,<ref>
e.g. {{cite book
  | last = Mead
  | first = Margaret
  | title = The American troops and the British community
  | publisher = Hutchinson
  | year = 1944
  | location = London
  | oclc=43965908 }}</ref> and vice versa.<ref>
e.g. {{cite magazine
  | last = Mead
  | first = Margaret
  | title = What Is a Date?
  | journal = Transatlantic
  | volume = 10
  | issue = June 1944
  | date = June 1944
  | oclc=9091671
}}</ref> Mead found a pattern of misunderstandings in the flirtations between American soldiers and British women regarding who was supposed to take which initiative. She wrote of the Americans, "The boy learns to make advances and rely upon the girl to repulse them whenever they are inappropriate to the state of feeling between the pair", as contrasted to the British, where "the girl is reared to depend upon a slight barrier of chilliness... which the boys learn to respect, and for the rest to rely upon the men to approach or advance, as warranted by the situation." When flirting with each other, British women could interpret an American soldier's gregariousness as something more intimate or serious than he had intended.<ref name="uk"/>

Communications theorist [[Paul Watzlawick]] researched courtship behaviors between English women and North American servicemen in late- to post-WWII, finding common misunderstandings of intent. The simple act of [[kissing]] during the 'wrong stage' of the courtship often led both parties to believe the other was being too forward, too soon.<ref>{{cite book | title=[[How Real Is Real?]] | publisher=Souvenir Press | author=Watzlawick, Paul | year=1983 | edition=1st illustrated reprint | location=London | pages=63–64 | isbn=978-0-285-62573-0 | quote=One interesting aspect was a comparison of courtship patterns. Both American soldiers and British girls accused one another of being sexually brash. Investigation of this curious double charge brought to light an interesting punctuation problem. In both cultures, courtship behavior from the first eye contact to the ultimate consummation went through approximately thirty steps, but the sequence of these steps was different. Kissing, for instance, comes relatively early in the North American pattern (occupying, let us say, step 5) and relatively late in the English pattern (at step 25, let us assume), where it is considered highly erotic behavior. So when the U.S., soldier somehow felt that the time was right for a harmless kiss, not only did the girl feel cheated out of twenty steps of what for her would have been proper behavior on his part, she also felt she had to make a quick decision: break off the relationship and run, or get ready for intercourse.  If she chose the latter, the soldier was confronted with behavior that according to _his_ cultural rules could only be called shameless at this early state of the relationship.}}</ref>

== Purpose ==
[[File:SundayNewOrleansFlirt1880s.jpeg|thumb|right|266x266px|A woman flirts with a soldier by tickling him with a feather.]]
According to [[social anthropologist]] [[Kate Fox]], there are two main types of flirting: flirting for fun, and flirting with further intent.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fox |first1=Kate |title=SRIC Guide to Flirting |url=http://www.sirc.org/publik/flirt.html |publisher=Sirc.org |access-date=2019-03-21}}</ref> In a 2014 review, sociologist David Henningsen identified six main motivations for flirting: sex, relational development, exploration, fun, self-esteem, and as a means to an end.<ref name="Flirting with meaning: an examinati">{{cite journal |last1=Henningsen |first1=David |title=Flirting with meaning: an examination of miscommunication in flirting interactions |journal=Sex Roles |date=2004 |volume=50 |issue=7–8|pages=481–489 |doi=10.1023/B:SERS.0000023068.49352.4b |s2cid=143077407 }}</ref> Henningsen found that many flirting interactions involve more than one of these motives.

Henningsen and Fox showed that flirting can sometimes be used just for fun.<ref name="Flirting with meaning: an examinati"/> People may engage in flirting to consolidate or maintain a romantic relationship with their partner.<ref name="Flirting with meaning: an examinati"/>

== Human mating strategy ==
{{See also|Human mating strategies}}
Many studies have confirmed that sex is a motivation for flirting.<ref name="Motives to Remain Platonic, Equity">{{cite journal|last1=Messman|first1=Susan J|last2=Canary|first2=Daniel J|last3=Hause|first3=Kimberly|date=2000|title=Motives to Remain Platonic, Equity, and the Use of Maintenance Strategies in Opposite-Sex Friendships|journal=Journal of Social and Personal Relationships|volume=16|issue=67–94|pages=67–94|doi=10.1177/0265407500171004|s2cid=145745343}}</ref> A study by Messman and colleagues demonstrated that the more one was physically attracted to a person, the higher the chances one would flirt with them.<ref name="Motives to Remain Platonic, Equity"/>

Many people flirt as a [[courtship]] initiation method.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|jstor=3813356|title=Courtship Signaling and Adolescents: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"?|author=Moore, Monica M.|year=1995|journal=The Journal of Sex Research|volume=32|issue=4|pages=319–328|doi=10.1080/00224499509551805 }}</ref> The person flirting will send out signals of sexual availability to another, and expects to see the interest returned in order to continue flirting. Flirting can involve non-verbal signs, such as an exchange of glances, hand-touching, and hair-touching; or verbal signs, such as chatting, giving flattering comments, and exchanging telephone numbers in order to initiate further contact. 

==Covert and overt signaling==
Human flirting can be either [[Covert operation|covert]] or overt in contrast to the typically overt [[courtship display]] of animals.<ref name="covert_1"/> If the main purpose of flirting is to signal interest to another person, then one might expect that the signaling would be done clearly and explicitly. An explanation for the ambiguous nature of human flirting lies in the costs associated with courtship.<ref name="auto"/> According to Gersick and colleagues, signaling interest can be socially costly, such as risking existing friendship or affect social [[reputation]].<ref name="covert_1" /> The costs associated with interest signaling may be magnified in humans compared to the animal world, as the existence of language means information can circulate much further. For instance, information overheard by an eavesdropper can be spread to large social networks, thereby magnifying the social costs.<ref name="covert_1">{{cite journal | first1=Andrew | last1=Gersick | title=Covert Sexual Signaling: Human Flirtation and Implications for other Social Species | date=2014 | last2=Kurzban | first2=Robert | journal=Evolutionary Psychology | volume=12 | issue=3 | pages=549–69 | doi=10.1177/147470491401200305 | doi-access=free | pmid=25299992| pmc=10480930 }}</ref> 

Flirting can assess whether other person might be interested in reciprocating while maintaining [[plausible deniability]] to reduce social costs.<ref name="covert_1"/> Online flirting can reduce perceived risks.<ref name="i557">{{cite journal | last=Pinsky | first=Dina | title=Mediated risk: A qualitative exploration of students' experiences flirting online | journal=Sexualities | date=25 December 2023 | issn=1363-4607 | doi=10.1177/13634607231224159 | page=}}</ref>

=== Misinterpretation ===
Flirting is often performed subtly, and evidence shows that people are often mistaken in how they interpret flirting behaviors.<ref name="Motives to Remain Platonic, Equity"/> A 2015 study found that covert flirting is not detected in the majority of cases.<ref name="u730">{{cite journal | last=Hall | first=Jeffrey A. | last2=Xing | first2=Chong | last3=Brooks | first3=Seth | title=Accurately Detecting Flirting: Error Management Theory, the Traditional Sexual Script, and Flirting Base Rate | journal=Communication Research | volume=42 | issue=7 | date=1 October 2015 | issn=0093-6502 | doi=10.1177/0093650214534972 | doi-access=free | pages=939–958 | url=https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/1808/21524/1/Hall_2015_DetectingFlirting.pdf | access-date=22 April 2025}}</ref>

Without [[consent]] or [[implied consent]] by the receiving party, some flirting behavior, such as [[double entendre]]s, can be viewed as [[sexual harassment]].<ref name="l939">{{cite journal | last1=Henningsen | first1=D. D. | last2=Braz | first2=M. | last3=Davies | first3=E. | title=Why do We Flirt? Flirting Motivations and Sex Differences in Working and Social Contexts | journal=Journal of Business Communication | volume=45 | issue=4 | date=1 October 2008 | issn=0021-9436 | doi=10.1177/0021943608319390 | pages=483–502}}</ref><ref name="Marueen"/>

== Cultural variations ==
Flirting behavior varies between cultures due to different modes of social etiquette, such as [[proxemics|how closely people should stand]], how long to hold eye contact, how much touching is appropriate and so forth.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,419712,00.html | title=Scoring a German: Flirting with Fräuleins, Hunting for Herren | date=5 June 2006 | accessdate=6 May 2023 | newspaper=Spiegel International | quote=HE SAYS: ... German women, though, have become conditioned to a much more subtle style of coquetry. Interest is indicated by way of a studied, concentrated look on the part of the man -- a gaze which may, but often doesn't, include a smile. Rather than a stare, though, the look should be brief and fleeting -- and the man's job is done. In a German-on-German flirt, the power rests solidly with the Fräulein. [....] SHE SAYS: ... The bottom line, though, is that it is often up to the foreign woman to break the ice in a way the German man understands: heavy on the warm-yet-serious discussion and lighter on the flippant-friendly-sexy thing. Flirting in Germany is not nearly as fun, meaningless or flattering as it is elsewhere. But the sometimes awkward but also deliciously subtle dance between the genders here might just grow on you.}}</ref> Nonetheless, some behaviors may be universal. Ethologist [[Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt]] discovered that women from different continents (Africa and North America) behave similarly in some ways when flirting, such as nonchalantly breaking their gaze and smiling after first staring for a prolonged period of time.<ref name="Marueen">{{cite web | access-date=6 May 2023 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/m03aboutlastnight-20161118-gssbxl.html | title=About Last Night: Where do I draw the line with flirting? | date=29 Nov 2016 | author=Matthews, Maureen | language=en | quote=Q: I'm a guy who loves to flirt but it can get me into trouble. How do you judge the line between harmless flirting, seduction, sexual harassment, leading someone on, being inappropriate, and so on? It feels like a social minefield.  A: It seems that some form of flirting is universal in social intercourse. | website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>
[[File:In the harem (unknown date), by Vincent G. Stiepevich.jpg|thumb|234x234px|An [[Algerians|Algerian]] woman flirts with a resting man while playing the [[kwitra]] ]]
In "contact cultures," such as those in the Mediterranean or Latin America, closer proximity is common, compared with cultures such as those in Britain or Northern Europe. The variation in social norms may lead to different interpretations of what is considered to be flirting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sirc.org/publik/flirt.html| title=SIRC Guide to Flirting|publisher=Sirc.org|access-date= 2010-06-23}}</ref>

Japanese courtesans had another form of flirting, emphasizing non-verbal relationships by hiding the lips and showing the eyes, as depicted in much [[Shunga (art)|Shunga art]], the most popular print media at the time, until the late 19th century. In [[Japan]], flirting in the street or public places is known as ''[[nanpa]]''.

The fan was extensively used as a means of communication and therefore a way of flirting from the 16th century onwards in some European societies, especially [[England]] and [[Spain]]. A whole sign language was developed with the use of the fan, and [[etiquette]] books and magazines were published. Charles Francis Badini created the Original Fanology or Ladies' Conversation Fan, which was published by William Cock in [[London]] in 1797. The use of the fan was not limited to women, as men also carried fans and learned how to convey messages with them. For instance, placing the fan near the heart meant "I love you", while opening a fan wide meant "Wait for me".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avictorian.com/fanlanguage.html|publisher=Avictorian.com| title=Ladies and their Fans|access-date= 2010-06-23}}</ref>

In Spain, ladies used fans to communicate with suitors or prospective suitors without attracting the notice of their families or [[Chaperone (social)|chaperons]]. This use was highly popular during the 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://spainforvisitors.com/module-News-display-sid-236.htm|publisher=Spainforvisitors.com|title=The Language of the Fan|access-date=2010-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626234341/http://spainforvisitors.com/module-News-display-sid-236.htm|archive-date=2010-06-26|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Gendered roles===
{{Main|Dating#Gendered norms and preferences}}
[[File:Eugen de Blaas The Flirtation.jpg|thumb|''The Flirtation'' by [[Eugene de Blaas]]. A study of body language: a man flirting]]
Certain types of flirting seem to vary by gender. Henningsen and colleagues' study demonstrated that flirting with sexual intent was found to be more prominent amongst men while flirting for relationship development purposes was more often employed by women.<ref name="Flirting with meaning: an examinati" /> Henningsen also found that women may engage in "practice flirting," that is, behavior to evaluate potential partners.<ref name="Flirting with meaning: an examinati" />

The [[parental investment|parental investment theory]] predicts based on [[evolutionary biology]] in case of a risk of [[pregnancy]] with gender differences in [[parental investment]], that females would be more selective than males and courtship would be more commonly initiated by males.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Campbell| first1=Bernard| title= Sexual selection and the descent of man| date=1972| publisher=Aldine| pages=1871–1971}}</ref> In case of no risk of [[pregnancy]] this gendered effect is predicted to be reduced.<ref name="m376">{{cite journal | last=Woodward | first=Kevin | last2=Richards | first2=Miriam H. | title=The parental investment model and minimum mate choice criteria in humans | journal=Behavioral Ecology | volume=16 | issue=1 | date=1 January 2005 | issn=1465-7279 | doi=10.1093/beheco/arh121 | doi-access=free | pages=57–61 | url=https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article-pdf/16/1/57/17274400/arh121.pdf | access-date=5 January 2025}}</ref>

===Gender egalitarian roles===
Flirting can follow [[Gender equality|gender egalitarian]] norms.<ref name="p358">{{cite journal | last=Lamont | first=Ellen | title=Negotiating Courtship | journal=Gender & Society | publisher=SAGE Publications | volume=28 | issue=2 | date=23 September 2013 | issn=0891-2432 | doi=10.1177/0891243213503899 | pages=189–211}}</ref> Direct opening lines by women were evaluated as more effective by men.<ref name="q483">{{cite journal | last=Joel Wade | first=T. | last2=Butrie | first2=Lauren K. | last3=Hoffman | first3=Kelly M. | title=Women’s direct opening lines are perceived as most effective | journal=Personality and Individual Differences | volume=47 | issue=2 | date=2009 | doi=10.1016/j.paid.2009.02.016 | pages=145–149 | url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0191886909000907 | access-date=22 April 2025| url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Anti-Flirt Club]]
* [[Gender script]]
* [[Implied consent]]
* [[Incomplete information]]
* [[Making out]]
* [[Public display of affection]]
* [[Sexual script theory]]
* [[Wingman (social)]]

== References ==
{{Commons category|Flirting}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource|The_Royal_Path_of_Life/Flirting|A nineteenth century perspective on flirting}}
{{reflist}}

{{Human sexuality and sexology}}
{{Human sexuality}}

[[Category:Sexual attraction]]