Gender Roles and Money in Relationships
 

Hello. :)

I would like to take this opportunity to ask you how gender roles in your (Spanish-speaking) country determine "who pays what" in a modern relationship.

I'm quite aware that traditionally, it has been "the man pays for everything" because of the "machismo" attitude. I'd be very interested in how the youngest generation in your country (Spain, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, etc) is handling these things.

Is it still the case for young couples, that the man is expected to pay for most/all things in a relationship?

And in case the guy is old-fashioned and wants to always pay for dinner, is it somehow expected for the girl to "balance this out" by paying for groceries or buying him presents?

Or has it become more of a 50/50 situation, i.e. he pays for dinner this time, she pays next time, ...?

For example, if you go out having dinner, go to the movies, order drinks together, that kind of stuff. But also paying rent if you live together, paying for groceries at the local supermarket, etc.

To simplify things, please let us assume that:
- both the man and the woman have jobs
- both have exactly the same income
- no children are involved
- you're past the initial dating/courting phase
- you have established a relationship

I'm looking forward to your replies. :)

Thank you.

Yo vivo en México. La diferencia respecto a épocas pasadas es que la mujer ya trabaja. Pero el hombre sigue siendo el responsable de pagar las cuentas de la casa. Usualmente ella puede hacerse cargo de pagos específicos como el pago a la sirvienta, su gasolina y las compras de su ropa y maquillajes. Si vas al cine o a cenar se vale decir no traigo dinera y ella te da el dinero para que tu pagues, pero esto sólo si no tienes en ese momento dinero.
Saludos.