I am a high earning woman in a profession well known for being high earning.

The men I date know about my profession because i put my occupation on my dating profile. I don't want to deal with the ones who will feel insecure about it.

The men that match me are also higher earning, but not as high as I am. They inevitably somehow comment about that (I certainly dont). I don't disagree nor agree with them, but rather just smile in acknowledgment of that. I don't give the insecurity any legs or opportunity for discussion.

That being said, it makes my dates hell bent on paying for anything and everything. The check on the table gets snatched up, the card folder gets grabbed and stays in his hands until the waiter cones by, tabs get paid and I'm not even aware that it happened.

There is no " well, you are a _______, so you help pay for this" vibe. If anything, even the mere suggestion of me paying would be an affront to to them and emasculating. I figure they have a deep need to impress me and assert their masculinity in the face of my high earning profession.

I have chipped in a few times here or there. I bought a round of after dinner drinks on a first date. I also surprised one guy I was dating by paying the check when he was in the bathroom. Both times they expressed pleasant surprise at that and said thanks. But again, anything beyond that token appreciation is verboten.

So i happily let them pay because I like it when men want to impress me. And they seem to like doing it.