Filipinos' latest online debate asks: Who should pay for a first date?
Ah, first dates. There's nothing like that exhilarating mix of fresh conversations and meeting someone new who could potentially be your person in life, or at least for right now. As the conversations flow and the meals go, the bill eventually comes and you look at each another: So, who should pay?
That's the question that Filipinos have been debating as of late, with mixed opinions surrounding social media and topics such as masculinity, class, and income being brought up by netizens.
The conversation began from a July 11 TikTok video from user Robert Setias where he and his friends debating whether or not men should pay first. They concluded that it should be a "KKB" (kanya-kanyang bayad) situation to promote equality.
Other TikTok users soon jumped in on the conversation and shared their piece, with many saying that men should initiative during the first date.
@valdezciara Replying to @Leche flan seller ng Cainta ♬ original sound - ciara (ki-ya-ra)
@lynelllopez Replying to @ohhhwhyyy_ ♬ original sound - lynell
As with most internet trends, it soon spread out to the regions of Facebook and Twitter, where the conversation took on more nuanced areas such as class and even the perspective of queer dating.
tungkol sa usaping sino dapat magbabayad sa date, syempre yung nag-aya dapat.
— huhsmile (@huhsmile) July 21, 2022
this whole discussion about “who pays on the first date?” is so indicative of heteronormative gender roles🥲
— migs #NeverAgain #NeverForget (@migseu_) July 21, 2022
like as a queer person (at least in my experiences) it’s always a mutual discussion on who gets to pay or if kkb (kanya kanyang bayad) na lang😭
this conversation about kung sino ba dapat daw mag bayad sa date😭 boy ba daw or girl😭 pota ang bottom line wag kayo mag date kung wala kayong pera😭 sunod sunod sa fyp ko jusko, mamaya humihingi pa pala sa magulang para may maipang date
— K🥡🥢 (@dlsucore) July 21, 2022
With the topic still making waves as of writing, users are still up in arms about their opinion on the dating scene. However, some have also poked fun of the trend by bringing up the woes of the pandemic: the hassle of finding a date at all.
@buwan111 Date me pls #fypシ ♬ original sound - Terry Reloaded