After driving noticeably above the speed limit and being pulled over by a man in uniform, I had no intention of flirting. Really. But as the officer came up to my window and went through the typical protocol (“Do you know how fast you were going miss?”), it’s almost as if a natural instinct took over. I opened my eyes wide in semi-mock innocence, leaned toward the window, and told the officer in a soft voice that I had no idea that I was going that fast. I still got the ticket – a bit of a knock to my pride – but he did gave me a lesser fine (“Even though you were going rather fast.”), and told me with a slightly chastising smile to “drive safely.” Ticket: $100+. Flirting skills: priceless.

Men and women have evolved quite a bit to become the flirting specialists they are today. Gone are the days of clubbing a wooly mammoth over the head and dropping it off at a pretty girl’s cave; no longer can women demurely drop their handkerchief in front of a suitor without being reprimanded for littering. Yet, there are many ancient ways of flirting that still hold strong (men puffing their chest out; women seductively swaying their hips). And while the goal of flirting has expanded to reasons other than to pass on one’s genes, it will always remain a timeless art.

Women are often touted as the better flirts with their subtle and seductive movements and their ability to say so much with something as little as a wink or a smile. Data collected from Queendom’s Flirting Personality Test however, reveal that while women do have a slightly higher tendency to flirt, it was men who fared somewhat better in terms of flirting expertise and techniques. In terms of style, both genders had a greater tendency of being “Drive-by” flirts: applying their seductive techniques anytime, anyplace, and anywhere but mostly just for the fun of it. “Future-oriented” flirting was the next most popular flirting style (flirting to find the “one”), followed by the “Pragmatic” flirt (flirting to get something tangible, like a good deal), the “Toxic” flirt (flirting for revenge) and, pulling up the rear (no pun intended), the “Carnal” flirt (flirting solely for sex).

On the surface, this seems pretty innocent. Men and women love to flirt, plain and simple. It’s fun, makes you feel good, and lets you know that you still “got it.” When Queendom dug a little deeper into the data however, we uncovered some interesting little tidbits revealed by this flirty sample. This is where things became tantalizingly interesting, and showed that both men and women can be rather brazen flirts.

• 11% of the men would easily and shamelessly flirt with a female officer to get out of a ticket

• 20% of men have used their flirting skills to get a deal on a car, and 6% of them actually admitted that they would date a saleswoman in order to get a deal later on

• 45% of men would converse with someone they found attractive at a funeral, 36% would ask that person out while still at the funeral

Before the women out there tsk tsk men for their audaciousness, they should take a look at their own statistics below:

• 8% of women would flirt with an officer to get out of a ticket

• 21% stated that they would flirt mercilessly with a bouncer to get into an exclusive club if they heard that their favorite celebrity would be there…6% said they would go even further than that if they had to
• 10% of women would flirt with a car salesman in order to get a better deal

• 55% of women would converse with someone they found hot at a funeral, 19% would ask that person out while still at the funeral

Clearly, we can agree that both men and women can be shamelessly flirtatious – and equally skilled at using flirting techniques. The most popular flirting gesture for the men in the sample is to “smile and lean in to show interest,” while women “smile and look deep into a man’s eyes.”

In the end, it would be unfair and a misconception to claim that men are uncivilized and overly-conspicuous flirts (gone are the cheesy pick-up lines, for the most part), or that women are notorious seductresses who use their feminine wiles to ensnare unsuspecting gentlemen. Granted, there are some people who use flirting as a means of manipulation but for most, flirting is entertaining. As it should be.

Insightfully yours,

Queen D