We cannot deny that seduction is an extremely important tool for communicative species, for reproduction often follows seduction. Every species and culture has a particular mode of seduction. Male butterflies, such as the Monarch butterfly, send out scents when they want to seduce a female butterfly. They also have a complex olfactory warning system that they can use to compete with other males.
Similarly, humans go to all kinds of extremes to sexually seduce each other. Some may feed each other oysters and chocolate, some may take body shots off each other and some may play hard to get. There are books written about the art of seduction, and there are even internet groups that share seduction stories and tips. Here at Dartmouth, we have our own culture of seduction, which involves a celebrated, infamous system of communication called BlitzMail.
Blitz has taken control over the Dartmouth network. I will admit that it is a good foundation for communication between students and professors. It is also a fun distraction and stimulation, as blitz notifications are instant gratification. Blitz writing has become a talent and an art form. Writing a blitz is almost like sculpting a sculpture, for you can mold the sculpture/blitz to any form that you desire and you can even have other people critique and adjust your piece of art until perfection is achieved. The cellphone is useless and even mocked on the Dartmouth campus. Instead, blitz terminals infuse the campus, so that, when walking from frat row to Wheelock Street, one can stop in Novack caf for some quick, drunken blitz satisfaction.
Blitz has eliminated the necessity of face-to-face interactions and semi-personal phone calls. Blitz is also a manipulation of the already informal instant message, for one can write a blitz at a certain time and choose to respond at another time, without having to "sign-off" or put up a witty "away message."
However, BlitzMail is not only a mode of innocent communication; it has become a form of seduction. Students are able to test the "blitz waters" before putting themselves in a vulnerable face-to-face situation. For example, I have a friend who once received a blitz from a complete stranger that said, "I took an online survey that says that you and I are perfect for each other."
While verbally, this pick-up-line would seem sketchy and inappropriate, BlitzMail allowed my friend to step back and take the comment as a compliment, and to come up with a witty come back line, which ultimately led to a personal encounter, etc.
BlitzMail may seem ideal because people are able to avoid awkward and vulnerable encounters that may otherwise occur. BlitzMail may also seem great because both sexes have equal opportunity to compose blitzes.
However, BlitzMail has only perpetuated the inequality between the sexes in heterosexual seduction and relationships. There is an unspoken consensus on campus that boys are supposed to blitz girls first, whether when starting a blitz seduction or the day after a sexual encounter.
If a girl "dares" to seduce a boy or to blitz the boy the day after a sexual encounter, she is often considered too forward or desperate. "Why didn't he blitz me?" is thus a question that is perpetually posed by girls on campus.
I hear people asking this question in both private and public spheres, whether it be between bathroom stalls, at public blitz terminals, over blitz or at the gym. A girl may spend an entire day fretting over the fact that she still has not received a blitz from her crush. Even while in a serious relationship, a girl may complain that her hubby does not blitz her enough.
Most of us know how silly it is to worry about something as insignificant as the lack of "hey, how are you today?" blitzes; however, blitz is such a powerful tool in our community that every blitz sent or not sent becomes very important.
A blitz becomes a sort of puzzle, for each blitz can be interpreted in different ways. What does the exclamation point mean? Why didn't he put a question mark at the end of his question? Why does it take four hours for him to respond to my blitz? What does the "..." mean? These are many of the questions that I, as well as many of my friends, ask each other on a regular basis.
There is always a friend who is caught in some web of blitz seduction, or some game of desire, involving the careful scrutiny of each semi colon and capitalization -- or lack thereof. Personality can be misread on blitz. For example, a "haha" can be taken as not only friendly, but flirtatious. You also know that everybody checks their blitz multiple times throughout the day. So when somebody does not respond immediately, that person is considered either to be playing hard to get, or to be disinterested. On blitz, slights of hands can be extremely significant.
In the United States, women are progressively becoming more independent and influential in the private and public spheres of life. However, there is still a revolutionary gap separating men and women in the seduction war. Men are "supposed" to make the first move, for an audacious woman may be considered desperate. Dartmouth students, although extremely intelligent, are, perhaps unintentionally, perpetuating this hetero-normative myth. I think that it is time to stop playing mind games; no one will ever get what they want if people continue to seduce each other and reject each other over blitz.
One question that I often ask myself is: What will happen when we graduate, when we will have to function in the real world of face-to-face communication, when a guy cannot just blitz a girl to tell her to come to his frat basement to watch him play pong?
I would like to end with the insightful words of Jessica Chervin: "Always return blitzes. Not to do so is not only insulting the sender, but is just indisputably poor form. One can only abandon this rule when experimenting with passive aggression, whose utility as a mode of 'communication' is doubtful at best."
