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Valentine’s Day is separated by gender, creating unequal expectations. BY SELA KINCAID VIDEO AND CONTENT EDITOR
Everyone spends money. Money on dates, food, clothes and gifts for women and men wanting to receive and give to their other half. Sharing roles in planning an event, especially Valentine’s Day, is important. Women need to take charge and treat their significant other, while still being treated by their other half. February is seen as a month of romance, filled with chocolates and flowers. Valentine’s Day is the peak of this month of romance, spreading love to all the couples in the United States. St. Valentine is seen as the inspiration for this holiday. The story goes that in Rome young men were banned from getting married, with the idea that single men were better soldiers. St. Valentine, a priest, believed this was wrong; he continued to perform marriages in secret, later having to pay for this with his life, according to History.com. Men are traditionally seen as the planners and gift-givers of Valentine’s Day. In a survey taken by Bankrate, men planned to spend around $339, where women planned to only spend $64. It is clear that men are expected to bring in the big bucks for Valentine’s Day. But women simply spend just a bit below the average date, usually costing $102, according to USA Today. There needs to be a new norm with a lower and more equal spending limit. Women are very capable of taking on this task. Take charge and treat your significant other. Why not show love equally through a night together. Take
Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to have a special night, meaning a lot to both of you, not just one-sided happiness and the other broke from overpaying. Overspending does not necessarily make for a great Valentine’s Day. To enjoy relationships there shouldn’t be a focus on money, but instead the time together. Valentine’s Day is based on love, or affection for another human being. This is not something bought, but instead should be something shared. Women and men can spend less and create a more meaningful event by doing less storebought experiences. To take charge and still have the money afterward, you might opt for the less expensive route. This could be something like going ice skating and cooking dinner at home or setting up a game night and having other couples come over and play. Maybe even go completely homemade and paint pictures together following a Bob Ross tutorial. Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be extremely romantic as you can give or get gifts in many different ways. What matters the most is time together and equal participation. This Valentines Day, take charge and stand for what you want. Whether it is to buy dinner for your significant other, cook a meal together, gift homemade presents or just spending time together. Women and men can have equal involvement in all of these ideas. Allowing one side to pay and create this scene is unfair and only allows one side to express effort in the relationship. If women step up to take the responsibility of demonstrating romance and care for their significant other, Valentine’s Day would be more meaningful. Go back to the roots of what Valentine’s Day is for the love and connection between two people to create an equally shared holiday that brings joy and happiness to both.
Share the Love Junior Brynna Dow “I definitely think that in a relationship you should give something to them and hopefully they give something to you.”
Sophomore Tess Tappan “You have to put in effort to get out effort. It’s a two way street.”
Freshman Katherine Porch “I feel like in a relationship, its you love that person the same amount, so you give them stuff and go to dinner and just spend time together.”
Do you want to be treated or treat: 41.7% want to be treated 27.1% want to treat 31.3% treat themselves
Do you want to have equal participation in Valentine’s Day: 90.6% yes 9.4% no
Go Online to Le Journal Live to take a “Who am I on Valentine’s Day” Quiz
(Illustrations by Sela Kincaid) FEBRUARY 2020
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