Supervised Dating: The Dating Parlor at Bob Jones University
Lealla Solomon
The Dating Parlor was designed and built in 1947 as part of Bob Jones University, an evangelical institution of higher education in Greenville, South Carolina. Conceived as a space where established couples could court under supervision, it allowed intimacy to unfold within the bounds of religious convention. Here, physical distance was not merely enforced but exhibited: a public virtue desired by both the institution and its students. The university regulated proximity, while students performed their sexual restraint before an audience that included both their peers and God. Although it appeared to be a postwar modern open-plan space, the Parlor functioned as a hybrid between the private living room and the surveilled workspace, combining the intimacy of domestic comfort with the oversight of institutional discipline. On the ground, this duality materialized in a grid of upholstered sofas arranged in quasi-domestic clusters that subtly constrained eye contact between partners, a wall-to-wall yellow carpet that absorbed sound, and background scenic photographs that provided a controlled sense of atmosphere. Surveillance, in turn, was equally designed: couples were assigned specific visiting hours, while a chaperone circulated through the room with a notepad, enforcing the “six-inch rule” by measuring the distance between bodies and recording demerits.
[Print reproductions]
Source: Unusual Film Studio, The Vintage, Bob Jones University annual yearbook, (1) 1982, (2) 1948, (3) 1979, (4) 1957, (5) 1982, (6) 1975, (7) 1951, (8) 1974. Paper, 8.5 by 11 inch, Bob Jones University Archive.
Namoro supervisionado: a sala de namoro da Bob Jones University
Lealla Solomon
A Sala de Namoro (Dating Parlor), construída em 1947 na Bob Jones University, em Greenville, Carolina do Sul, era um espaço onde jovens casais de namorados oficialmente comprometidos podiam se encontrar sob supervisão institucional. Nela, a intimidade era permitida apenas dentro dos limites da convenção religiosa, fazendo da distância física não apenas uma regra, mas uma virtude pública encenada por alunos e legitimada pela universidade, diante de seus pares e de Deus. Embora se apresentasse como um espaço moderno de planta livre no pós-guerra, funcionava como um híbrido entre sala de estar e ambiente disciplinar, articulando conforto doméstico e vigilância. Essa lógica se materializava em sofás dispostos de modo a limitar o contato visual, em um carpete contínuo que amortecia sons e em imagens de paisagens que criavam uma atmosfera controlada. A supervisão era parte do desenho: encontros tinham horários definidos e um supervisor (chaperone) circulava com um bloco de notas, fiscalizando a “regra das seis polegadas” — a distância mínima entre os corpos — e registrando infrações.
[Reproduções impressas]
Fonte: Unusual Film Studio, The Vintage, anuário da Bob Jones University: (1) 1982; (2) 1948; (3) 1979; (4) 1957; (5) 1982; (6) 1975; (7) 1951; (8) 1974. Papel, 8,5 × 11 polegadas. Arquivo da Bob Jones University