In the month of February, a certain holiday arrives, which over the years has shed a significant amount of spotlight on women, young and old. This is an awful lot of pressure, ladies! But don’t worry, the world has made it easy for you. Because apparently, there are just two simple choices of how a woman can choose to react, and how to spend her Valentine’s Day. So picking one will be a breeze!
The first woman is expectation number 1. She is extremely excited about this holiday, and can’t help but walk up and down the fluffy pink isles of candies and flowers at the grocery store. In between Pinterest-ing gift ideas for her boyfriend, she drops hints everywhere about exotic dinner plans which may or may not involve a horse drawn carriage and $55 dollar cheese platters. Her social media flutters with pictures of her and her significant other, looking ecstatic with lots of #love and #goals hashtags.
This is society’s response to expectation number 1:
- “She’s just rubbing her relationship in our faces!”
- “That’s so tacky.”
- “They're so fake, I bet they break up soon.”
- “She’s so annoying.”
- “What a try-hard.”
The second woman is expectation number 2. For one reason or another, she just doesn’t see the big deal about Valentine’s Day. She might eat a pink frosted cupcake here and there, but the amount of sugary sweets and poems makes her a bit nauseous, so she steers clear. When friends ask what her big plans for the night are, she replies, "Eating buttered popcorn and catching up on episodes of 'The Office.'" Chances are, she’ll be asleep by 10 P.M. But it's OK because that's exactly the way she wants it.
This is society’s response to expectation number 2:
- “She just can’t find a date.”
- “Wow, what a debbie-downer.”
- “Is she just trying really hard to be a feminist?”
- “She’s just jealous of everyone in relationships.”
- “Poor Miss Forever Alone.”
So, ladies! As the love-filled holiday rolls around the snowy corner, decide which expectation you want to be this year! Then, sit back, relax and enjoy the judgement. Because no matter what you do, it’s just one big, sticky trap.
