I have often encountered the attitude in women that men need to woo them, romance them. But that is a convention left over from a world where men did indeed court women--in the hopes of attaining them and their dowries.

Because we were property.

This is new age. We pay for our meals now. We make money. So he should not have to leave you a scavenger hunt to ask you to prom or strew a trail of rose petals to the bedroom to get laid.

Now, I'm not saying that romance is dead, ladies.(Or that you should 'put out' for anyone, anytime, without any provocation.) Not at all. What I'm saying is that it shouldn't be so one-sided. If you expect sweeping gestures from your man, you need to be prepared to dole them out yourself.

Dress up as his favorite fictional characters for a way to spice up the bedroom.

Or make him his favorite meal. Which is probably pizza. Or tacos. Or a taco pizza. So it's not that hard.

You might be imagining something more along the lines of this:

Or even this.

But trust me, he'll appreciate it. It doesn't actually take that much effort to be 'romantic.' If you don't have to be pretty/sexy for him because that's sexist (which you definitely don't), then he doesn't have to be prince charming (a.k.a. suave, selfless, handsome, traditionally masculine, etc.).

Not to mention the fact that it doesn't take much to show your affection for someone. My husband cleaned and organized our storage room without me asking, and that swept me right off my feet.

And more than that, just saying that you appreciate your significant other is a huge boon. Knowing that my efforts do not go unnoticed help me feel like what I do matters.

But back to my main point; feminism (which is a good thing!) means that you ladies need to either stop demanding romance or start doling it out yourselves.

Because, though this is obviously nice.

So is this.

And this.

(Interestingly enough, this image links to a video of her singing songs from 1964 to 2012, and there is an interesting trend; in 1996, the music turns from romance to sex. But that's for another story.)