Statistics show that love barely blooms during hard economic times, and for many people, dating is hard right now. However, for some single tech guys in San Francisco, California, the blame goes to how there are too many men. So they hatched a plan to “cull the numbers” by fighting in a “Duel to the Death.” Thankfully, no one died because they fought with inflatables, and “Duel to the Death” was only the name of the event.
This “Duel to the Death” took place on Sunday, September 7, in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, after being organized by tech sector worker Danielle Egan. “Duel to the Death” is actually a misnomer since the fight was more of a playful event where the single men — most of whom are tech guys — fought in gladiator-style matches, unclear what the grand winner actually gets. The reward is supposedly releasing pent-up dating frustrations.
“Everyone thinks there should be more women but what if there were less men?” reasons out Danielle Egan, transcript courtesy of The San Francisco Standard
The crowd appeared to be bigger than expected, with more than 100 people watching 18 well-oiled single men fight using inflatable boxing gloves, pool noodles, and other harmless balloons in a battle for dominance. Of course, not everyone who joined the fight was serious. One of them, Daniel Jensesn aka Weaponized Autism, wasn’t even single and feels that men blaming the lopsided men-to-women ratio is just an excuse for single guys.
In reality, there are actually more women than men in San Francisco, especially in the Gen Z bracket, according to the census, with a ratio of 96 men to 100 women. Still, people in the audience and even those who participated in the “Duel to the Death” admitted that dating is still a challenge for both men and women, especially in San Francisco.
People online can’t decide whether the joke or the matter being joked about is sadder
While the event was mostly held out in the spirit of self-reflection and is mostly just larping, a lot of people online can’t help but recall their actual experiences in dating in San Francisco. Some of the participants and members of the audience think that, regardless of the statistics, it appears there is no shortage of men whom the “Duel to the Death” was mocking, especially in many US states.
“My experience with SF isn’t about the gender ratio. It’s that the women there are fit, successful, highly educated, and self-made. They’re looking for someone who is the same, not adopting an entitled man-child to raise,” says a Reddit user
“Having talked to actual women, I’m pretty sure that they like men who act like functioning adults and see women as human beings.”
Some, however, were thankfully more in on the joke and were well aware that the “Duel to the Death’s” participants were not exactly as problematic as the people they’re trying to mock. Hence, participants of the “Duel to the Death” might have earned a newfound respect on the internet.
“Nerd Fight Club?”
“I get the impression this was tongue-in-cheek and the men at the event are self-aware, not hardcore incels. I could be wrong though.”
