Photo by chip py

Is this why I see so many man-boobs around the D.C. region? In the latest ruminations on dating in the city, D.C.’s male population has ranked 10th among best cities to find a romantic suitor. But according to Chemistry.com’s resident mad scientist, “most romantic” could correlate to “highest estrogen” in our bloodstreams. Great, I guess that means we should stop popping our mothers’ hot flash medication. Fortunately, the ranking, which comes from the dating websit data pool of American singles, placed San Francisco, Portland, New York and Austin among our romantic superiors.

And what exactly constitutes romance in the District? According to Chemstry.com’s Dr. Helen Fisher, working in one of D.C.’s many non-profits could be a strong indicator. “I think a lot of the not-for-profits pull in a lot of the high-estrogen types who really sort of care about the state of the planet and the state of the polar bears and the state of the United States. So I’m not surprised that Washington does attract men who are sort of the big, broad, long-view thinkers who are good with verbal and people skills,” said Fisher to the Daily Caller. Also, a higher estrogen level correlates to a higher likelihood to lean liberal. Hell, even Slick Willy, D.C.’s prince of romance, grabs a nod for his Casanova-like ways.

It’s unfortunate to read that, once again, D.C. — in this case its less fairer sex — can’t have it’s day in the spotlight any way. Either guys are un-datable for being too career-driven and inept — as stereotyped earlier this summer by Bloomberg — or being driven and passionate about changing the world makes us more romantic/requiring hormone therapy. Maybe there’s something in our drinking water, or maybe dating is generally seen as a joke here; or maybe we should stop parsing and pigeonholing something that is supposed to be enjoyable.