Most British girls prefer Joe Bland to James Bond
LONDON (Reuters) - Job security and marriage to an accountant beat adventure and an exciting Bond-style boyfriend for most British women, a new survey said.
PARSHIP, Europe's largest matchmaking service for singles wanting a committed relationship released results of the poll on the same week as the latest Bond film "Quantum of Solace" had its royal premiere in London.
But results showed that although British women may fantasize about a glamorous James Bond-style romance, in reality they prefer job security, an accountant boyfriend and marriage over a high-octane adventure.
Only one in four people said they would leap at the chance to take up the offer of a round-the-world trip from a boyfriend/girlfriend of just four months, according to a poll of 13,000 Britons by online dating service PARSHIP.com.
"Whilst an all-expenses paid year-long adventure certainly has some appeal, it seems that for most people this would only be pure fantasy," said Victoria Lukats, psychiatrist and PARSHIP's dating expert.
"Even in this hypothetical situation, perhaps even imagining the perfect partner in the scenario, the people who would openly throw caution to the wind are in the definite minority."
The number of people who said they would accept the global trip, increased to more than half of the women surveyed (52 percent) if they believed their boyfriend would guarantee their job, accommodation and financial security on their return.
The majority of people surveyed (55 percent) said they wouldn't risk their job or give up their social life for a relationship of just four months' standing.
However, if their partner proposed marriage, one in three - 32 percent of women and 29 percent of men - would say yes to a lifetime of commitment.
British women are also more likely to be impressed with a bunch of flowers, a nice restaurant, a weekend away, than by a fabulous adventure, the poll showed.
It turns out that British women in general don't rate James Bond-style qualities as particularly attractive in a man.
More than half saw the appeal of a groomed, toned body. But only 39 percent were attracted to ruthlessness, 35 percent to a dominating personality, 22 percent by an alpha male, 13 percent by a high earner/over-achiever and 49 percent by a male protector.
A mere six percent could tolerate a womanizer.
PARSHIP.com, the largest premium online matchmaking service in Britain, is specifically for people who are serious about forming a lasting relationship and is built on a rigorous personality profiling test that determines compatibility.
(Reporting by Paul Casciato, editing by Patricia Reaney)
