I do think it’s fair. It’s mostly a bunch of rules established by people trying to control others for material or emotional gain. Diamond engagement rings are a prime example. The tradition was invented wholesale by De Beers in the early 1900s. It’s not some great tradition passed down from generation to generation. It’s a cynical marketing ploy designed to pressure people into giving De Beers ridiculous amounts of money for not particularly valuable tiny rocks. And that’s just one of the most obvious ones. Most of these heterosexual romantic tropes are full of deeply deeply sexist double standards. Simultaneously putting women on a pedestal as superior beings whose approval must be earned and treating them like infants with no personal agency, while pressuring men to be both emotionless drones who’re completely unaffected by rejection yet also hypersensitive to a woman’s state of mind. It’s just a schizophrenic collection of product marketing and social engineering… Anything that’s the least bit practical about it is hopelessly lost in the mix.
