This thread and the male response to it makes me very sad.
I'm in my mid-twenties and truthfully, don't have a lot of experience "dating", casually or as prelude to a relationship. I think men underestimate how good a well-planned and executed date makes a woman feel, regardless of the amount of money spent. There's something to be said for making a woman feel special and, for whatever reason, one of the clearest ways of showing that when you're just getting to know a woman is by planning and paying for a date. Still, that's not to say that a good or memorable date has to consist of a fancy meal at an expensive restaurant. As long as you're not asking me to come sit on your couch (much too intimate for a first date, plus come on put in a little bit of effort to show you like me more than a random jumpoff) we can do just about anything. Seriously.
For the men who think that women who date are just out for a free meal, let me assure you that's not the case! At least, not for most women (I don't think). Some of you guys seem really... bitter is the best word I can come up with. If all the women you've been dating have given off that kind of aura, you should really look at why you were dating those women in the first place.
All this to say, I think a lot less women are dating as regularly as you guys believe, so not putting in any, or minimal, effort when they finally do go out on a date makes us feel like, what's the point, I could've stayed at home with a glass of wine and Desperate Housewives!
P.S. I'm a lawyer. I say this because I have a huge bookcase full of black romance novels -among others- sitting in my apartment at this very moment (no Zane though, she's actually a terrible storyteller, and no EJD, although I did enjoy Cheaters). I read these books as a break for my brain from all the legit intellectual reading I do on a daily basis. To assume that you could ascertain anything about me because I purchase a book with a half naked man on the cover rather than Literature, shows a startling lack of knowledge about the human condition on your behalf.
. You can't assume that just cause chick didn't want to be there it means that she was ungrateful. Now if she was, (and we don't know), dude should have known better to take her to that type of eatery but at least he tried. Just know that sooner or later his efforts will go noticed by the right woman or the wrong woman too late.
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lol. But no i don't think women killed it. Just about every real woman i know loves for a guy to court her. Just so many guys don't know how. So women are settling for the slim pickings. We have to be like, "ah well...they don't know any better and this is what i'm going to get anywayz."
