3 Mar 2012

What Do We Expect From Relationships?

Have the standards for finding a life long partner fallen over the years? We are bombarded everyday with songs and movies that rotate around the theme of buying a woman everything she wants as a sign of a man's love for them. Is this how easy it is to please a woman, have they simply become materialistic, or did men not get the memo: Genuine love is more than material things. 


The other side of the coin presents an even sadder perspective. Sex sells and that's one of the main things that keeps a man happy. When we say sex, it is not the actual act itself alone that we speak of but everything associated with it. From a woman's exterior to how she presents and carries herself. A woman wishing for anything more than a good time is sure to see the men take to their heels. How dare she demand respect, commitment, faithfulness and most importantly undying true love. An absolutely ridiculous idea when there are tonnes of women out there who would be satisfied with less.

Gone are the simple expectations our parents and their parents had. Values they held so dear. The search for an honest man with a good enough profession that enabled him to provide for his family. He on the other hand wanted a woman from a good home, willing to do any and everything to uphold her home and loved ones.

What prompted this piece? The so-called baby mama syndrome. A term so rampant that it now has it's very own entry in the Oxford Dictionary as the mother of a man's child, but not his wife or partner. The term does have a negative connotation, considering there is a lot of stress associated with a baby mama. Kind of like if I cannot have him no one else will situation. But I digress.

News about the engagement of two celebrities hit the airwaves and reactions were mixed to say the least. The background story to our knowledge so far, Mr has a child with said on-off partner of 13 years now turned fiancĂ©e, but has four other children with three different women and a sixth child on the way. So why then was she so over the moon when he popped the question? Twitter posts and photos put up by her confirmed this. Considering he was hopping from one woman's arms to another while they were supposedly an item. The evidence of his infidelity being the children he had by several of these women. From her part, is it a lack of self esteem, that bond you share with someone once you have a child together or totally clueless on what it means to be with someone who respects you and is loyal. Did he promise her the world, that he would change?

This phenomenon does not relate to celebrities alone. An average relationship encounters similar hurdles. General perception is that women are easy and men are reluctant to commit to a relationship. Perfect match you would think, but in the long run is this satisfying? And then the inevitable happens, time is no longer man's best friend and people get into a relationship that is less than adequate. The foundation is faulty and it comes as no surprise that the building i.e. marriage is shaky.

So once again, I ask the question, have standards for finding the right partner fallen? Do men and women settle for mediocrity?

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