Women are tired of carrying the emotional weight of relationships alone.
Many now prefer autonomy, friendships, and reciprocal connections over unequal romance.
Dating increasingly feels like unrewarding work instead of mutual joy.
Across the world, many women who have the choice are growing weary of relationships that feel like work. They no longer want to shoulder intimacy alone, holding everything together through constant emotional effort. The labour of sustaining connection has become exhausting.
Women often enter dating with a high level of emotional literacy, while simultaneously carrying greater social risk and safety concerns. What follows is not a lack of desire for connection, but a growing reluctance to participate in systems that feel unequal or unrewarding. Increasingly, they are opting out of imbalanced romances and partnerships, choosing instead to build lives where they retain control over their time, autonomy, and desire. In doing so, they are investing in friendships and female partnerships that prove more lasting, reciprocal, and emotionally sustainable.
