Reciprocation

This drawing is genius and gave me a good laugh when I saw it. The message behind it sure does seem to ring true sometimes.

I try to avoid playing into the whole "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" rhetoric, but lately I've been encountering a lot of stereotypical, unreciprocal situations when it comes to dating.

You know the story - a girl hooks up with a guy, has a wonderful, seemingly mutual good time, and goes on to never hear from him again. No, this did not happen to me, but it happened to my friend, and unfortunately it doesn't surprise me.

In my own life, I've encountered more than one occasion of unreturned affections. It's almost second nature to me at this point. Most recently, there is someone in my life who I enjoy immensely. We have all of the necessary ingredients - we laugh, we get along, we have a connection, we can be ourselves, we have fun together.

Only one problem - this fool does not want to be in a relationship with me.

The strange thing though is that at one point he did, but now that offer has been taken off the table and I feel like I'm almost being punished for not being ready to take the plunge the first time.

It sucks, it really does. Especially since it's all there, right in front of our eyes. But I guess if mutuality is missing, then all that other stuff means nothing.

Yes, I realize this issue is not the end of the world. It's just something that hurts me.

I'm always one to ask "Why?", which I know is pointless. I don't want to just settle on the idea that guys are "only after one thing" and have one-track minds - this seems dismissive and unfair because 1) women are sexual too, and 2) let's give guys a bit more credit than that.

I realize teen and 20-something guys are generally still trying to figure things out, as are their female cohorts, but the idea of being in a relationship is always presented to a guy as a choice between having fun with friends and being miserable with a needy ball and chain. It's two extremes with no middle ground, which we all know is ludicrous. Instead, I wish more people viewed relationships as two people who get along fabulously and want to enjoy only each other's company for an indefinite amount of time.

Yikes, being happy with just one person instead of a harem of nobodies. How repulsive!

I once read a book that said young adult dating is becoming obsolete because of the "hook-up culture" (i.e. people messing around without explicit commitment). This is bullshit and plays into the horribly ridiculous "not buying the cow because the milk is free" nonsense. I refuse to believe that my generation is incapable of holding steady, legitimate relationships.

All right, enough with my soap box. I could go on for millenia about this topic, but this "ball and chain" has got stuff to do.