Okay, so a few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about Goblinintimacy, and the article mentioned another new term: shrekking. So, of course, I have to write a follow-up blog post because this new term was way too fun to ignore. So what is shrekking? Like Goblinitimacy, it is a new dating technique where a person “settles for someone that doesn’t meet their standards.” Or some refer to this as “dating down.” I dug into this more, and here’s what I found…

This trend is intentional. A person actively seeks out individuals they are attracted to, hoping that the person will treat them better. The other hope is that they will have more prospective partners to choose from. Thus, it’s all about physical attraction, not factors such as intelligence or financial status.
There are some pluses to this strategy for the dater regarding long-term commitment. Since the strategy no longer focuses on the most superficial consideration (physical attractiveness), it leaves the dater open to finding someone who may be more compatible with more important determinants of a lasting relationship, such as common goals, values, and morals, a winning personality, a similar sense of humor, and kindness. Because let’s face it: no one stays young and beautiful forever. Physical attraction will never sustain a relationship if that’s all you’ve got.
I’m sure you guessed this, but the term originates from the movie Shrek, where the princess falls for an Ogre. Now, of course, the princess kisses Shrek and takes her “true love form” which is an Ogre. So their physical appearances match in the end.
There are, however, limits to shrekking. Obviously, if there is zero attraction, it would be hard to develop an intimate relationship. Sex is important, too. So there needs to be a baseline level of attraction, but a model’s good looks are no longer required.
Along with shrekking, there is another term: getting shrekked. If you’re “shrekked” that means you dated below your standards but still got hurt. Experts caution that we should never expect someone to treat us right just because we’ve dated down. That is never a guarantee. Unattractive potential lovers can be assholes too.

Romance novels are filled with attractive people. Rarely do I come across a book in which one of the main characters is plain, and the other is gorgeous. JM Dragon is one of the few authors who has done this masterfully. Although I wouldn’t have described Danna in Pleasure Workers as unattractive, the reader could certainly have inferred that as a middle-aged woman with a few extra pounds, she was mismatched to the young, hot, pleasure worker/maintenance worker. So…if you want to check it out, along with my latest book, Cherry on the Top, feel free to click the links below!