Yeah, that's a fair expectation of what a date is, you drive and you pay. Anything else is just two people hanging out. (Source: I dated and eventually got marr

Yeah, that's a fair expectation of what a date is, you drive and you pay. Anything else is just two people hanging out. (Source: I dated and eventually got married.) That's ridiculous. Here's a real source: http://blogs.chapman.edu/press-room/2013/08/12/research-on-which-gender-pays-for-a-date-shows-changing-but-also-resistance-to-changing-conventional-gender-norms/ http://blogs.chapman.edu/press-room/2013/08/12/research-on-w... The self-reported study indicates that around 40% of women split the costs of dating, and 44% of men say they would end a relationship if the costs were not shared. This is increasingly true of couples in their 20s. Your statement that "anything else is just two people hanging out" irks me and is not true for 2/5 of couples (in the US, I presume) I'll relate my own situation. I am an American living in Cambodia. I started dating a local girl about a month and a half ago, and we split the expenses for everything. She has a relatively good job by Cambodian standards, but I have to be very cognizant that she has less money than I do, so we choose restaurants and activities that both of us can afford. She is clearly proud of being able to pay for herself, partially I think to distance herself from the stereotype of Cambodian girls marrying for money and/or being prostitutes. If we decide to get married, then sure, my money is her money and vice-versa (and who knows maybe she'll end up being the breadwinner). But as far as dating is concerned, I will forever take a hard line on splitting the costs (or at least contributing in amounts proportional to our income) and if a girl isn't down for that, I'll find someone else.