Just as women have been conditioned over the millennia to view a proposal or a wedding as the summit of womanhood, so men have been sold a lie: that to act – and act bombastically, desperately, aggressively – is the only way to save a relationship. If a man really wants you, so the narrative goes, nothing will stop him. Otherwise, he’s “just not that into you”.
The problem, or one of them anyway, is that women today, especially women like Kardashian, with a net worth of $US1.8 billion, don’t need grand gestures. Kardashian “broke the internet” with one magazine cover. She showed up to last year’s Met Gala as a silhouette, covered from head to toe in black T-shirt material. Kim Kardashian, it might be said, is her own grand gesture. And she’s showing no sign of wanting Kanye’s relentless and garish attention.
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Similarly, Julia Fox appears entirely unscathed by her breakup with West, writing on Instagram, “Why not see me for what I am which is a #1 hustler”. That same day she opened a show at New York Fashion Week in what has since been termed her “revenge dress” and is now organising her own fashion shoots.
Still. It’s tempting in this hyper-visual age of social media to believe in the power of the grand romantic gesture to save or kickstart relationships. It was only three years ago that West hired saxophonist Kenny G to play for Kardashian in her rose-filled living room. But, just as a sumptuous wedding appears inversely proportional to the strength of the relationship, these bravado-driven acts, sanctioned and promoted by our culture for so long as “romantic”, might just be the new red flag. As for what women, celebrity or otherwise, want – it may be the unglamorous, mundane act of showing up day in, day out, and the small gestures – to take out the rubbish, clean up after the kids and make a cup of coffee or dinner – that is the real sign of true, everlasting love.
Let the Kanye saga be the death of the grand romantic gesture
Source: Philippines Alive
