Isabella Auerbach
Opinions Contributor
In the past decade, the feminist movement has become increasingly popular as more groups advocate for the immediate equal treatment of genders. Today, females around the world fight for equal pay in the work world; just two years ago the average female worker was paid 79% of what males of her same occupation earned.
With all this talk of closing the gender gap in terms of salaries, it seems wrong that society continues to expect men to pay for dinners, movie tickets, so on.
Most of us will go on a date a one point in our lives. At the end of the night, the bill will arrive at our table and the male figure– usually– will insist on paying for dinner.
Why is this?
Because for centuries, it has been deemed proper that men pay for their spouse’s meal. One could argue that this tradition is a matter of chivalry and depicts good table manners; however, a man will spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars each year on popcorn, ice cream, and full meals.
How can we insist that females and males make the exact same amount of money and simultaneously ask men to pay for their dates? Of course, all workers, regardless of gender, should earn the same income, but if this is the case, then society cannot expect one gender to spend more money on the other. If we insist on equal pay, we must also insist that men and women split the price of their expenditures.
This is not to say that men should stop holding doors for women. This is merely a polite gesture, involving no money, similar to the practice that bus passengers ought to give their seats to elderly citizens. Chivalry– exemplified by a person of any gender– should only be questioned when is gets in the way of practicality.
It’s as simple as this: if society wants all genders to have the same numbers written on their paychecks, it must also accept that all genders share the weight of paying for their significant others.
