It's considered pretty par for the course, at least here in the US, for men to be expected to pay for the first date, if not the first few. I've heard from both tradcon and feminist women that this is a cultural aspect of dating that shouldn't be done away with, with reasons ranging from "it's just the polite thing to do", "it makes me feel feminine", "the men I date need to show they can support me financially", and "it's the least a man can do if I'm going to spend time with him". Every once in a while I will talk to a woman who thinks splitting the bill is preferable, but I've yet to meet any other females who pay for the whole date as I do.

So, my questions for men are:

  1. What do you think about being expected to pay? Do you appreciate being in the provider role, or do you think it's sexist?

  2. How many dates do you/would you typically pay for, before asking her to help out if it's not forthcoming?

  3. Have you ever been blatantly used to get a free meal, or had a date who obviously tried this? How did you deal with it?

Questions for women:

  1. Given that more women are college graduates nowadays, and tend to make more than their male peers on average, do you think it should be the woman who pays?

  2. If you were on a first date with a man who forgot his wallet/wanted to split the date costs without discussing it prior to meeting, would you go on a second date (assuming you had good chemistry)?

  3. Have you ever paid for the entire first date, and how did the man react to it? If you haven't, then would you?