Before I'm inundated with a sea of cyber ads for custom-made dancing poles, I'll emphasize this isn't another post about stripping.
Sorry.
Anyway...I recently got a call from a male reader who related a recent first date of his. They went to a local restaurant, exchanged the obligatory getting-to-know-you formalities, yada, yada, yada. Fast forward to the end of the night. He offers to pay for dinner, she offers as well, he accepts her offer.
And they lived happily ever after. Right?
Honestly, I don't know. But I was surprised at how many friends of mine -- male AND female -- said his decision to let her pay for dinner was the end of the beginning.
I admit...it would have thrown me a little off guard. Men, listen up. All women have a rustle-through-your-purse, I'll-get-this routine. That does not by any means signal an actual desire to pay. In fact, more than 75 percent of the time, I perform my routine in the absence of real cash. Or credit cards.
That said, are my friends right in calling this reader's monetary submissiveness lethal? Or, has modern dating courtesy progressed to a point where emotional investment outweighs a $24.14 restaurant check?
And what if his female companion knew a second date wasn't in the cards? Does that change the financial equation?
