Why Lebanese Girls Are No Fun To Date

This Cosmo article has recently brought to my attention the fact that American girls generally find that chivalry makes them uncomfortable. Chivalrous acts mentioned include holding doors open for women, offering to pay for dinner, and offering up a bus seat for a pregnant woman.

I can just hear the Lebanese women tapping their freshly-manicured nails in protest. After all, in Lebanon, a man is expected–nay, obliged–to offer to pay for dinner. Yes, it’s customary for a woman to give a half-hearted “no, let me!”, but both parties know that in the end, the man should pull out his wallet, snatch the check from the middle of the table, and insist that it would be rude to not pay.

As a female who has lived in both Lebanon and the United States for significant periods of time, I’m torn. I mean, what girl doesn’t love to be treated to dinner? I myself hold doors open for others so admittedly, I would expect people–especially my date–to do the same.

On the other hand, I understand that everyone works for a living. University students, much like myself, typically live off of a budget. And I’m not crude enough to expect my date to shell out $50 for dinner, even if I knew he could afford it.

Still, when I look over at the finely-dressed Lebanese woman and her date in a restaurant, and I know that she makes no effort to offer to pay even half, I’m appalled. But not all the blame can go to the woman–Lebanese men propel this stereotype just as much as their dates. In the few times I’ve gone out with a Lebanese man–even if it was just as friends–and offered to pay, he would get offended. I mean bona fide, WTF-look offended.

So, as much as chivalry is nice to read about in sappy romance novels, it’s just not practical in real life. And with all those societal pressures stacked on top of it, not nearly as romantic or charming as it should be.