Anyone who is single and dating knows that there is often a lot of pressure on men to pay for first dates, certainly for dinner dates and especially if they asked the woman out.
Is it fair? Why is it the social norm? Are things changing?
I know personally that I’d feel pretty weird not paying for a first dinner date, I’d probably say pay the tip if my date really pushed it. Drinks and other dates are a bit different and I’d not expect to be paying for every drink. I don’t mind a woman paying just if I ask someone out for dinner it just seem the norm to pay for it. But is that a bit crazy?
Laci Green on MTV’s Braless has been doing a bit of digging and it’s all a bit complicated.
She points out that dating is a fairly new custom and up until 1920s it was common for families to arrange marriages. Women who dated were seen a bit like prostitutes!
However, WWII emprowered women as they entered the work place in their millions and that gave them financial indepdenece, Going Dutch became popular throughout the 1940s but in the 50s things took a step back.
That decade is responsible for a lot of gender roles that are still pretty strong today.
It’s an interesting topic, check out the clip and let us know what you think, be sure to sign up for Braless too.
What do you folks think?