Labelling this as discussion, because if I'm being honest with myself, yall changing my view isn't possible.

My position here is pretty self explanatory in the title, but I'll elaborate. The way we think is largely constrained by the language and concepts we have at our disposal. Additionally, the language and terms we use to talk about aspects of the human condition shapes how we emotionally relate to these aspects of the human condition.

When we use the language of economics to talk about relationships, we put ourselves in the mindset of economics, which at it's core, is transactional, and 'rational'. Is this a good deal? Am I getting what I paid for? Am I being swindled? Is everyone else getting the same deal as me?

I understand why people do it. Terms like HVM/LVM or SMV, market language, makes things easier for people to understand, in a sense, but it locks them in a mode of thinking that isn't condusive to healthy human interaction. It reduces people to commodities.

But healthy human romantic relationships aren't strictly transactional and rational. When I see things like 'I am angry that women gave to 'chad' for free what I had to work for', I see people stuck in this economic mindset, emotionally lashing out because they see a 'bad deal'. Like, really? You had to 'work' for sex? Did you log your time card so the woman knew exactly how long you'd need to 'work' before she paid you in vagina dollars?

Reframe the language in how you approach romantic relationships, and you'll have a much easier time in getting to a place where you can value relationships and people beyond a checked box or ink in a ledger, constantly trying to figure out if you're in the black or the red.