Dovey also noticed a difference in lingerie perception along class lines.

"People in lower classes think lingerie is a luxury and to people in the upper classes it's an indulgence which they enjoy," she says.

Dovey believes this has some historical basis because, in the past, "working-class women had to spend long hours doing [hard] work making the stuff for the upper-class women to wear."

Dovey discovered that even though women think lingerie is uncomfortable, they still wear it--for special occasions, that is.

"They believe something is beautiful, but it's probably been put there by men's thinking over time," she says. In fact, most see lingerie as only special occasion dress

I Want It All

Much has been said about the tepid Harvard dating scene. Michelle A. Guerette '02 went for the data.

For her Sociology 10 project, Guerette looked at the role that dating plays in Harvard students' lives as compared to students at Boston University (BU).

Guerette expected her data--surveys of 50 Harvard and 50 BU students--would show that Harvard students focus on their career goals and let relationships fall by the wayside.

What she found contradicted this hypothesis.

"As expectations for future earnings and future formal education went up, dating was more important. It seems like Harvard students just want the best of everything. It's in their perfectionist nature," Guerette says.

The BU results showed the opposite. As expectations for future earnings and education increased, the amount of dating decreased.

When examining commitment in relationships, Guerette saysm "Harvard students tend to have long-term relationships more than random dating because it's less to worry about. You don't have to worry about whether or not you're going out that weekend."

One subject told Guerette that at Harvard there are long-term relationships and there are random hook-ups, but not as much formal dating as in other schools. The student compared it to Duke University where formal dating is common because of the many organized social functions.

Guerette said her interviews reveal that there isn't as much pressure to date at Harvard as at other schools.