Do You Subscribe to Traditional Gender Roles in Dating and Relationships?

The family is the most important aspect of life to Syrians. It is thought to encompass not only the nuclear family unit but also grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. The current Syrian home structure cannot be generalised as many families have been fragmented by conflict and war. Many households are also currently sustained by relatives that work in other countries and send money back.

One particular conversation on gender roles has been playing on repeat in my mind. I was at happy hour with two women, and we were talking.

Advice columnist Carolyn Hax: You want individual circumstances, not societal expectations, to determine everything from who buys dinner to who becomes primary breadwinner or caregiver. You were correct to suggest kindness. Who does most of the asking? What do you suggest men do in order to continue to be kind, but also not always be expected to pay? DEAR B. If you want women to pick up some checks, then date self-supporting, independent-minded women — or just date women who are givers, not takers, by nature.

If a woman continually sits on her hands while you pay, then stop seeing her. If those are the only women you ever find, then take a hard look at what you find attractive and off-putting in women.