Just buy her dinner

You don't have to buy a woman a meal if you want to date her, but you probably should

An ever-present trope on the platform we sometimes call X is the one that insists women use dates with men as a means to get free food. The projection is clear to me. That is to say, freeloaders likely presume those around them see the world as they do—they are opportunists so believe others are as well. It is also likely that the men insisting women are all out to milk them dry are also over-avid internet users who have never been on an actual date with an actual woman. “Free food” is something valued by teenage boys—it is not generally a priority to adult woman. Either way, it’s odd and an unattractive quality in a man to see the world as full of people out to take advantage of them. What are they protecting, anyway?