Although it's a dated article (February 27), I think it represents everything that's wrong with a guy tricking on a date just to *maybe* impress a girl.. It's titled:
Enough Already: If You Can’t Afford To Date Then Just Don’t Date
http://www.singleblackmale.org/2015/02/27/enough-already-cant-afford-date-just-dont-date/
Keep in mind, this article is written by a guy (
) living in the DMV (
)....
From the article:
"If you want to date in a major city, be prepared to spend a pretty penny. Don’t let money control your decisions on the date. The way to be a gentleman is to figure out what she wants out of a date and do that. Don’t worry about the cost. Again, if you’re worried about the cost, you shouldn’t be dating. They say, “if you don’t got it, you don’t got it” for a reason.
When an article was published that stated the average man in DC spends $177 on a date, I thought to myself, “Sounds about right.” I did some quick math with a friend of mine.
Dinner for 2 at Oya followed by some fun activities in Chinatown DC:
Pre-dinner drinks: $10 x 2 = $20
Appetizers, entrees an dessert: $50 x 2 = $100
Drinks during dinner: $20 x 2 = $40
Fun and games at Penn Social (a bar with arcade games): $60
UberX the two of you home: $30
Total Cost: $250"
He then seemingly appears to give an out by a man by stating:
"It’s important to note, not every date should cost this much. It’s important to note, it might and if you can’t afford to sustain it, then don’t start it. Over the course of the courtship she may offer to chip in or pay for something but don’t expect it." Fair enough.
But then he ends by writing:
"Let’s be honest here, do you really want to start out your courtship at Applebee’s? Is that what you want the first impression to be? #cmonson. If you shortcut the first date, you’ll shortcut the relationship. If you hustle your way to the second date, you’ll hustle your way through the relationship. If you don’t feel like the person you’re dating deserves the best like in the courtship phase, then you won’t feel like they deserve the best when you’re with them. I’m not asking you to simp. I’m not asking you to enable gold diggers. What I’m attempting to say comes down to one simple concept; either go hard or go home."
He also ends with this quote from an obscure CEO (Brandon Wade of WhatsYourPrice.com):
“The way a man spends his money is a reflection of his sincerity and character."
My problem with the article is that the author (a man) is supporting the idea that men who refuse to take women on dates to expensive restaurants shouldn't date period and, thus, have no right to complain about dating. He also fails to acknowledge that there's a middle ground in terms of dating expenses. Moreover, he fails to acknowledge that not everybody has the same level of financial standing. His entire article reeks of content elitism.
With dudes like this guy castigating men for taking the "shortcut" on the first date and not going "hard" (i.e., busting out that wallet until there's nothing left), it's no wonder females feel entitled to expensive dates from every man they talk to.
What do you think, brehs and brehettes?