Eye-opener

So I just got into a new relationship, and after a decade and a half of dating and previous serious relationships, I have really been stunned. Why have I been stunned? Because even though my new boyfriend obviously grew up in the same sexist world as the rest of us, and sometimes says things he doesn’t know are sexist, his behaviour in many things is so much more respectful than any of my previous partners. For the last 3 months I have been dumbfounded by things like finding the dishes washed even though I didn’t wash them, and him making my pleasure a top priority in bed, and him remembering and respecting the work I do. It’s weird. I would have to fight fruitlessly with previous partners to try to get these things, and then I would give up. No, my current partner is not perfect at all. There is stuff we have fought about, and stuff we’re working on. But waking up at 34 to be shocked that my fundamental human rights are being respected is a weird feeling. Other men would bring me flowers, take me on lavish dates. But knowing that I will not be left alone with all the housework when we eventually have kids and I’m also working means so much more to me than a stupid flower of inequality.