Roses are red,You think her divine,
Be wary to cast,
your peals before swine.
Yes, it is indeed Valentine's Day - the day where lovers measure their worth with feats of consumerism. Love, joyous love.
Today's Daily Quota is very much about love - particularly the courting phase. A few months ago the Fashion & Style section of New York Times posted an article titled 'The End of Courtship?'.
It hoped to delve into the perspective of a 20-something Western female, battling against the laws of supply and demand.
This piece consolidates the opinions of several disgruntled females as they discuss how men are no longer able to 'put in the hard yards' of traditional courtship. They wail about being treated as 'friends' on their first dates and they yearn for a time when chivalry was not dead.
The merit in the piece, of course, lies in the extensively reliable sample space of around 6 people; each acting as springboards for the fairer sex.
This article disgusts me, and I post it only to (optimistically) seek solace in a shared opinion.
Currently, 20-something females hold more relative romantic 'bargaining power' than any other demographic - they have more freedom than in the past, more rights than in the past, less social barriers than in the past, and they find themselves conveniently wedged between the cushion that is equal pay but unequal courtship.
Lo and behold, they don't know what to do with it.
The closed-mindedness, cheap stabs and sweeping generalisations make this piece one of the worst examples of post-feminist dogma I've had the displeasure of reading - which is exactly why I have posted it.
Perhaps I should have saved this article for Sardonic Saturdays?
Am I wrong to place faith in the art of courtship, or am I delusional to believe that romanticism is not an archaic concept? Has Aphrodite, the goddess of love and desire, been replaced by Athena, the goddess of strategic warfare?
Should one digest a copy of Machiavelli's The Prince before a first date, and let the Romantics gather dust?
I certainly hope not.
The article concludes with the beautifully succinct, post-feminism trash that is, what we pass off as, romantic wisdom:
"If he really wants you,", Ms. Yeoh, 29, said, "he has to put in some effort."
Indeed, pearls presented before swine.
READ IT HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment