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Opinion
50/50 In Relationships Sounds Fair, But Is It Possible?
Getting even on the financial responsibility in relationships and the unequal power it conveys
When Destiny’s Child dropped their #1 hit, Independent Women (Part 1) in the summer of 2000, we bobbed and shook our fingers alongside lyrics: “Pay my own car note and I pay my own bills, always fifty-fifty in relationships.” Hell, I was only nine then, but still there I was, throwing my hands in the air, unbeknownst the reality and responsibility of deciding how financially independent I’d need to be in a relationship.
However, it has always occurred to me that while the 50/50 ideal is the American dream of relationships because it implies equal partnership, what it really conveys often complicates how we should get even, — even in the best of relationships.
During an interview with Noah Callahan-Bever on Idea Generation, American actress Gabrielle Union-Wade opened up about the anxiety and security of financial responsibility. When Bever asked Union about the moment she felt a sense of security in her 30-year industry career, she confessed that moment hasn’t arrived just yet.
“I struggle with that. I think I just have more responsibilities for my money. So, I get nervous like…
