Valentine’s Day is a rosy, chocolaty, and romantic holiday that is meant to be spent with the one you love. It also happens to be the one day of the year where many men feel forced to be romantic and many women feel pressured to have dates. 

This type of "calendared" romance is superficial and unnatural. So ladies, men actually dread Valentine’s Day. 

“I think Valentine’s Day is the biggest scam ever!” Says Jay, 32-year-old Talent Director from New York, NY. “It means so much more when you come home on a random Wednesday night with one of her favorite flowers. Or make sure she doesn’t come home after a long and crazy day at work to a dirty house or dishes in the sink. It’s the small things that matter, not the overpriced box of chocolates and five dozen roses.”

In-your-face and patronizing advertising around Valentine’s Day is a huge turnoff.

“Valentine’s Day is a nice concept, a day to simply appreciate your significant other. Unfortunately, like Christmas, it is a corporately-manufactured holiday. Both holidays have good intentions. However, corporate greed has sucked the essence away," said Chris, a 26-year-old Videographer from Pitman, NJ.

For couples who have been together for years with kids to prioritize, romance can take a back seat to making dinner and getting the kids ready for bed. For these busy parents, a special occasion can serve as a reminder to take some time to truly appreciate one another. 

“I think Valentine’s Day helps those couples reignite that spark," according to Tim, a 29-year-old Co-Founder of 30 West Entertainment from Lancaster, PA. “Valentine’s Day allows them to be romantic and gives them an excuse to have a day to themselves.”

For many, Valentine’s Day can be celebrated with friends. For younger participants, choosing which cards to give out to classmates and friends is fun. Anticipating the looks on your friends' faces when they receive the cards you choose for them is exciting. 

Donnie, a 32-year-old Government official from San Francisco, CA. feels, “When Valentine’s Day genuinely shines is in someone’s adolescent years. Maybe it’s because when you’re young, you may not know how to fully convey your affection for somebody, and that’s kind of adorable. When you get older, it kind of becomes an obligatory thing. Personally I don’t like to give into those conventional ideas.”

When it comes down to it all, men are not fond of Valentine’s Day. We feel that it's forced and unnecessary. We're willing to play along if it'll make our other halves happy. It's an opportunity for us to remind them we care by giving in to corporate and societal pressure just to make them smile. At the end of the day, there shouldn't be a conventional way in showing your partner love because there's no such thing as conventional love. 

Guest Author 

Miguel Navarro is a shoes fanatic and foodie.