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Showing posts with label money and relationships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money and relationships. Show all posts

Monday, 12 November 2012

Gold Digger or Independent Woman- Two sides of the same coin?


Placing this in a post so I stop tweeting about the issue and instead make my points in one place. Also, as with all things I think or feel, I reserve the right to change my mind at any point in the future.

The issue at hand is about women being too demanding, feeling entitled and not being “deserving” of things from men (monetary, materialistic things). Are women who have “high” materialistic demands gold diggers?




Let me start by saying that in every partnership, only the parties involved/affected should be making the rules. Stop focusing so much on what “looks right” or is acceptable to the outside world. They will not be helping you dry your tears and they will likely tear you down and forget about you as soon as what you do is not deemed as okay. I believe that in today’s world it is more important than ever that women be able to provide for themselves and their families. We have more opportunities to do so now and we are more aware than ever before of history showing us that there are no guarantees and that, more often than not, being able to do so will become necessary.

I also feel that women have somehow let society force them into inconvenient and uncomfortable positions all because they are afraid of negative perceptions. This had only been to their detriment. If you are in a partnership and you are giving and getting the same as if you were solo, what then is the point of said partnership? Last I checked, you can’t buy groceries just by telling the cashier “I’m a good woman to my man even when he doesn’t deserve it”.

Be able to provide for yourself at least at the basic level, yes. But don’t let society make you feel like there is something wrong with wanting to be with someone who does the same for you or even more. Many men got to where they are on the backs of women who did not ask for anything. And they left those women in the dust after they made it. Do not feel that because you cannot match his monetary contribution, you are unworthy of asking for it. So long as you are doing your part and you are truly being the best mate you can be, it should be okay to ask for what you feel you deserve. The worst that can happen is that they do not feel you deserve that much and then you two will simply figure it out from there. Compromise is not a bad thing and sometimes breaking up is the best option for two people. At the same time, keep striving to be better. Do not get so comfortable that you cannot bounce back if your partner bounces.

There are men out there who do not want their women to spend on them, to spend any money actually. There are women who are content with this. This may not be ideal for you but it does not mean that it cannot and will not be the ideal for others. It does not mean that they cannot be just as happy as you in your relationship set on different priorities. Yes, there may be other facets of the relationship that you may not be willing to put up with but if both parties are ok with it, that is their business. Money symbolizes security to a lot of people. In this capitalist world, we can see why. For many, the end goal is to be rich. This may be because they are used to this or because they have never experienced this financial status and they dream of it. Let’s not pretend that there is no value in being financial able to do a lot of whatever you want in life.

Do not assume that the women who demand a lot financially of their partner are not able to provide for themselves. In this day and age, more women (and men) are becoming smart about how they dig their gold, how they save it and how they invest it. And to say that someone is only deserving of something if they can provide it for themselves is BS. If I put in a valuable contribution to a partnership but I am not able to buy myself the world, are you telling me that neither I nor my partner can say or feel that I deserve the world (or a really expensive equivalent)?
I’d also like to point out that a practice of rich people who are deemed smart is that they never spend their own money, they spend that of others. I have met gold diggers who are very upfront about it who also have their own money whether they work to earn it or they are given it by someone. At the end of the day, the money is theirs and if the source of the money should somehow disappear, they still have enough to get by on a rainy day, month or even year. Many women get left and end up so mad because of how much they gave and how little they received. The ones who ensured they got something tangible out of it have some comfort in knowing that. Maybe there’s something of value that you can take away from a gold digger, Miss Independent.

Sunday, 9 October 2011

Conversation with a Bajan woman


In the faculty lunch room last week, I met a fascinating Bajan woman and we discussed a few topics that I found interesting which I’ll share with you.

  • The first topic is Relationships and Security
On this topic, she made it a point to tell a colleague that we can’t have the full Bajan experience unless we get a Bajan man while we’re here. Mark you, her partner is not Bajan.
“Bajan men are great partners- they’ll give you their money easily and if u cheat, they’ll just drink.” This last part was significant because other men from different cultures would react much differently apparently. Which brings me to her next  point:
“Never date a Vincentian, a married man or a police. A Vinci (Vincentian) man will chop u up; they can’t take a hurt.” These three categories of men to be wary of were given to her by her mother, she said, and “If it comes out o my modda mout’, it mus be true”
As it relates to the other two categories
“Police men are always broke. From the day they join the force to their last day. They spend the money on flashy cars and all these expensive things so nothing’s left for you”
A male friend of hers who was present also made a point to say that Guyanese police are also on the poorer end of the spectrum but that this is due to how low they get paid. He said they protect you in the day and commit crimes against you in the night. “That’s why our police are so well taken care of- our government knows better” This male friend is also Bajan.
“If you dealing with a married man, know your place. Don’t call that man after 5- the man is eating with his family. Never disrespect the main woman. He’s been stringing you along for 2-3 years for a reason! He’s not gonna leave his wife for you. After 4 years, he’s gonna drop u ‘cause he doesn’t want u to bring he (him) to court and sue, 5 years are coming up.”
 For those who don’t realize the significance of 5 years in a relationship, it means you are now common law relationship in the eyes of the law. But this only applies if you have been living together the entire 5 years.

  • Then we tackled the issue of security in relationships
My friend was present and she has been with her partner for over 6.5 years. I was teasing (with 50% seriousness) her to get married and get her benefits.
“You don’t need to get married. Just make sure your name is on the bank account. Two years in, my name has to be on that bank account. Every night I’m there doing my womanly duties and nothing? *laughs*”