[TalnSG]

I am beginning to wonder if there is a serious generation gap when it comes to dating etiquette in the west from reading this.

Except from about 1980-95, I have been dating since 1968, and this is the one aspect that has never changed. Men have expected to pay for the expenses of the evening when they ask me out. Some would be highly offended otherwise; the implication being that they were unable to afford the expense.

The only exception to this is what I believe MMM meant by "casual" dating, such as when hanging out together as part of a group, or when doing something together other than what would be considered a date and then having a meal together on the spur of the moment. (i.e., helping shop for furniture or electronics, attending a class together)

Perhaps it is age making a difference in attitude. When I began dating it would have been a serious breach not to pick your date up at their house and introduce yourself to the family (at least parents), but today its more common to meet someplace mutually convenient. And likewise the older the gentlemen the more insistent I find them to be about covering all expenses. It even tends to present itself when with a group. I have come learn not to insist on paying my own bar tab when there is a man my age with us; especially if he is Asian. They not only think you are insulting their financial status, but consider it on a par with refusing a gift because you dislike them.