Are you going to shell out for this date?

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Who pays on a date - Brief article

Conventional notions of chivalry dictate that, on a date, the man pays, whereas egalitarian ideals suggest gender should not determine who pays for the entertainment expenses. It is known that 80% of today's marriages are based on sharing the bread-winner's burden, so researchers David Frederick of Chapman University, Orange, Calif].; Janet Lever of California State University, Los Angeles; and Rosanna Hertz of Wellesley (Mass.) College wondered whether that role is shared prior to marriage and, if so, hew early in the dating process.

Their researchers showed that, consistent with conventional norms, most men (84%) and women (58%) report that men pay for most expenses, even after dating for a while. Soma 57% of woman claim they offer to help pay, but 39% confess they hope man will reject...