But what do you think you are giving in exchange for them paying?

How does it make sense for the standard that men should pay to persist in a world where women have equal rights and opportunities?

Doesn’t placing the financial burden on men to provide create incentive for men to pay each other more?

These are just questions. I don’t really know the answer. It has just seemed intuitive that if I’m equal, I should pay my own way.

But then I have also begun to think that it might make sense given the status quo of persisting financial inequality. But then I’ll think if I want the world to change to my vision for it, I have to operate as if it has already. I am, at times, okay when men paying, but this is predicated on them having significantly greater financial status. Otherwise it seems exploitive.

I don’t think there is any harm in feminists telling people what they should or shouldn’t be doing. Already culture tells us what we should and shouldn’t be doing. That’s exactly what gender roles are — they’re prescriptive. Social contracts create incentives structures that govern how people behave, so it makes sense for people to want to tell other people how to behave in accordance with the system they see as ideal. I don’t really think you can get rid of gender roles in the professional world without eliminating them in the private world. At the same time, I think it’s up to individuals to negotiate their own relationships.