"I don't think so."
I won't be paying half for dinner on the first date or any other dates. I might treat my partner on their birthday or buy a round of drinks if we're out one night with friends. But, in general, I want my date to open doors; hold my hand when I walk down a flight of stairs in heels. When I leave home on a cold winter morning, I want to smile because my partner took the time to brush the snow off my car.
What I'm trying to say is, I want to feel special and I want to make someone else feel special in return. That's it. Simple, right?
"But, it's 2022!"
It is 2022. And in 2022 the gender pay gap still persists. Imagine that? Did you know that in large US cities the gap increases? Did you know that Black women and Hispanic women make the least when compared to white (non-Latino) men? It's true. (Business Insider.com, March 2022) It would be frugal of me not to go dutch. Over the course of my lifetime, I'll make less money than my single, Black male counterpart.
So, I simply can't afford to pick up the check.