“ You have the right to decide how love looks for you, and your partner should respect that it goes beyond you adhering to arbitrary gender roles.”

Thanks for the interesting read! And I think the quote above really speaks to the overall point, as I think otherwise it would be easy for people to confuse the overall message. I also think cultural/regional norms can play a factor in this as well. Just because I would be comfortable getting my future husband (sorry, I just view it as a marriage privilege lol) a plate doesn’t mean I have to bash/criticize the woman who doesn’t want to do that type of thing or call her a ‘feminazi’ (absolutely hate that word).

Growing up where I’m from, it was always about serving each other, rather than just a woman being expected to serve her man all the time. If my mom irons dad’s shirt it’s because she wants to, not because he expects it of her. And when he washes her car or fixes dinner it’s not because he’s ‘whipped’. They want to do those things and it’s not some unwritten expectation that they need to.

However, I will say that I would feel a way if tokens of affection and expectations were solely based on those traditional gender roles. I find it difficult to explain to guys who grew up with me though; they’re so quick to just criticize the woman instead of understanding that people view these gestures differently and aren’t going to give/show love the exact same way.