I had a rather unpleasant argument with a friend about Valentine's Day. Yes it was as ridiculous as it sounds. Before I get into the brunt of this post, I just want to say how sad it is that friends can't seem to disagree and still treat each other with respect online. Funny, this is becoming a growing trend I've noticed. It’s almost like it's really easy to forget that someone you claim to care about is on the other side of the words on your screen. If you're going to engage with me just like any other anonymous faceless person on the internet, don't pretend that you're my friend.
On to the matter at hand…
I fucking hate Valentine’s Day for a number of reasons and plenty of them are not overly noteworthy. The occasion makes single people feel bad, reduces the idea of love to “buy me shit” etc. my “friend” compared it to birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas. Birthdays and anniversaries are terrible comparisons as they don't come with the societal expectations on the scale of Valentine's Day or Christmas (Christmas being a fair comparison). Suicide rates around both Valentine's Day and Christmas sky rocket due to those societal expectations and I also hate the obligations surrounding Christmas to purchase gifts to show your loved ones that you care. At the very least, Christmas preaches togetherness and not materialism. Birthdays aren't required. Most people don't make a big deal about of about them after 30, maybe every milestone birthday. Anniversaries only come with expectations if the couple decides that they should. plenty of people stop making a big deal about anniversaries accept milestones after the first one. anniversaries suffer some of the same men must give to women mentality but societal pressures aren't quite the same as no one knows when your anniversary. Unless you have a cunt for spouse, it's not likely you're going to hatch hell from other people if you can't afford to spoil your wife on your anniversary. Everyone’s societal obligations on Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries are essentially the same.
My biggest issue with Valentine's Day is that it puts unnecessary stress on heterosexual men with spouses. Ask yourself this question: do women have the same societal expectations as men to give and show love on Valentine's Day? The answer is no. Valentine’s Day is the manifestation of men give and women receive and that pressure is extremely unhealthy.