Valentines VS Galentines: Are men missing out on the annual holiday?
By Sanchia Saunders
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s a very vivid reminder for singles that yes they are in fact still single, and no it’s very unlikely that they’re going to see a bouquet of roses at their front door.
With the shops filled with cards, balloons and cute teddies it could be argued that it’s Christmas all over again for lovers - as they’ll be able to spoil their spouses rotten and overindulge in good food, good company and maybe even a good time.
However for the singles out there like you and me, who are still searching through all the fish in the sea for their perfect one, Valentine’s Day may feel like January, the longest month of the year with -£69 pounds in your bank account and praying the month will end as soon as possible.
Fortunately you’re not alone as with statistics listing 28.9 million people as single in England and Wales alone, you won’t be the only one eating a ready meal on February 14th .
The three stages of Valentines Day:
I believe that there are roughly three phases that singles go through on Valentine’s Day the first one being loneliness, the second being self love and third is, if you’re lucky, graduating to girlfriend or boyfriend status.
Out of the three loneliness is definitely something that often gets people down, as an estimated 3.7 million people reported feeling lonely often/ always in the UK.
However what if I told you there was a way to reduce and hopefully beat loneliness during the valentines holiday season.
What if the only thing you needed to do was ditch Valentine’s Day and partake in Galentines day !!!
What is Galentines Day ?
Galentines day is celebrated a day before Valentine’s Day on February the 13th, and is a symbolisation of friendship. It often consists of wholesome activities whether it’s sip and paint, a cutesy dinner, or even a movie night.
For all the taken girlies rest assured as this does not mean that you can’t get involved too, as you can.
It’s just more appreciated by the singles girlies who won’t be getting wined and dined by their partner and instead will use February the 13th as a way to relax, enjoy and participate in some whole activities.
Why has it become so popular ?
With the whole of social media very much being in there self love era, Galentines is basically an extension of that and is broadcasted everywhere from TikTok to Instagram.
This is not surprising as an evening spent with your friends participating in wholesome activities definitely sounds like a form of self love to me and a lovely way to heal your inner child.
According to statistics, “In a recent poll of The Female Lead’s Instagram audience, a whopping 49% of respondents said they were celebrating Galentine’s Day this year - a hefty amount for a holiday which is a totally unofficial alternative to Valentine’s Day.”
Reinforcing the growing popularity and success of this unofficial holiday.
Why Valentine’s Day is for women and not men
So with Galentines very much being for the Gals, you may be wondering why there isn’t a male version of the new found holiday and to be honest there’s many scenarios floating around as to why.
The main one being that valentines is geared towards women, with men often expected to be the initiators.
This is why you often see men going all out and planning an elaborate day from start to finish, as this is their time to shower their lover in romantic gestures and remind them of their love for one day out of 365.
This can often feel stressful and come with a lot of pressure, as men are expected to provide and live up to societal expectations as if they don’t then they are viewed as less than.
Reports have found that men dislike the holiday because it’s too much pressure.
Many feel like they’re under a social media spotlight to produce a “wow moment” that is beyond their skills and budget.
Many of the “VDay Anxieties” stem from the unreasonable expectations about love that we have conditioned our girls to expect.
The outdated gender views which have stopped men putting their own spin on Galentines Day
When you step back and actually think why there’s not a day where women shower their men with romantic gestures - or guys don’t come together to have wholesome evenings in with their friends, it’s because it all comes down to outdated rigid stereotypes engraved within society.
Unfortunately to his day men are still expected to be macho and emotionless meaning they are not in touch with their feminine side.
As god forbid they are, they would be deemed less than and emasculated as there are often stigmas surrounding heterosexual males being too feminine these days.
This could be why men are afraid to create their own day of love with their friends due to fears of emasculation and mockery.
Breaking down stigmas/ importance of self love
With the expectation of men sometimes being too high depending on who you ask, it reinforces the importance of self love and also the importance of friendship.
As with valentines very much being a hit for the girlies, it’s only right that men feel the love too, as friendship and laughter are both definitely good for the soul.
But what do you think, do you want to see your man celebrating Valentine’s Day with his friends, or are you going to wait until steak and blowjob day to celebrate your man ?
If you’re unsure of this holiday please head online and be as blown away as I was when I read up on it!!
Credits:
- Just4One: https://just4one.com/news/being-single/#:~:text=How%20many%20Brits%20are%20Single,in%20England%20and%20Wales%20alone.
- Campaign to end loneliness: https://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/press-release/younger-brits-report-higher-levels-of-loneliness/
- The female lead: https://www.thefemalelead.com/post/galentine-s-day-a-trivial-yet-awesome-way-to-celebrate-women
- Essence: https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/valentines-day-anxiety-2/
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