Also, this applies to other situations. Forget gender. I have close female friends. We take turns inviting each other out to lunch and paying. It seems to just make things simpler for us.

I also have platonic male friends. Again, we’ve done the same thing. About two years ago I went to New Orleans with a platonic male friend whose been my buddy for 30 years now. He and I took turns treating each other through the whole trip. We also covered different things — I took care of our AirBnB tab, he covered the rental car and gas. We have been doing this kind of thing for years, during which we’ve taken many road trips together. It works for us.

What works for you does not necessarily work for other people. The point of being in a relationship is not to fit into society’s mores, whatever they happen to be. The point is to achieve intimacy and connection, and since each of us is unique, how our relationships work (or don’t) will be different for each of us.