Have you noticed it too — that more and more men out there seem to be living their very own princess era? Our readers certainly have, and their stories will make your jaw drop.
Wow
After a 12-hour shift, battling brutal period cramps, I still managed to go grocery shopping and bake a birthday cake for my boyfriend. A week later, he couldn't help me move apartments because he'd gotten drunk the night before and was hungover. This is a true story.
The ex
My ex spent more time fixing his hair in front of the mirror than I did — and posted five times as many selfies as me. In his spare time, he binged male podcasts where self-proclaimed alpha gurus performed their greatest hits: how hard it is to date these days, how unfairly high women's standards are, and how tragic the so-called male loneliness epidemic is.
My grandfather fought in a war and built a house for his family with his own two hands. What on earth happened to men in just two generations?
Calm down
I noticed this trend with my 24-year-old brother, who responds to even the gentlest criticism with a full-blown tantrum. You can't say a single word to him without him taking offense. Honestly, he's worse than our spoiled three-year-old niece.
Chase me
I was getting to know this guy, but the conversation was painfully one-sided, so eventually I stopped texting. He came back furious, demanding to know why I'd gone quiet. I explained that I figured he'd lost interest since he never reached out.
His response? He told me he likes it when "the woman does the chasing." I told him that wasn't going to happen and that I found it odd he wanted to flip traditional roles — at which point he informed me that I had outdated views. Sure.
The pamper request
Our first date was a casual walk and coffee. When I suggested a restaurant for the second date, he texted back that he'd actually been thinking of coming over to my place so I could cook for him.
While I was typing my very firm "absolutely not," he graciously added that if I didn't feel like cooking, sushi was fine too — and sent me a link to his favorite delivery place. I was speechless. He had "invested" one coffee in me and apparently expected a home-cooked meal and sex in return.
No thanks
He didn't have a driver's license and expected me to pick him up from his front door on our first date. Where do these people come from?!
The shoulder massage
He didn't hold the door open, didn't pull out my chair, didn't help me with my coat — but ten minutes into the conversation, he had the nerve to ask me to massage his shoulders because he'd "pulled something at the gym." When I said no, he visibly sulked.
The picky one
I already can't stand it when a man refuses to plan a date and dumps all the organizing onto me — but this particular "princess guy" managed to take it even further. He asked me to come up with several different date options so he could pick whichever one matched his mood at the time.
The absurdity of it all
I'm completely serious: today's men expect women to ask them out, text them first, plan the date, and pay for themselves — and then feel honored that he deigned to show up.
Even the guy with nothing going for him — living in a dingy rental or still at his mom's place — genuinely believes he's some kind of royalty. I honestly cannot wrap my head around it. If this is what dating looks like now, I think I'd rather opt out entirely.
Is the "male princess era" actually a thing?
Based on what our readers are sharing, it's clearly not just one or two bad experiences. Many women are noticing a pattern: a growing number of men seem to expect to be pursued, pampered, and catered to — while offering very little in return. Whether this is driven by social media, certain podcast cultures, or a broader generational shift in expectations around gender roles, the frustration is real and widespread.
If any of this sounds familiar, you're definitely not alone.
Is this really a new pattern, or have men always been like this?
While demanding behavior in dating isn't entirely new, many women report that the specific combination of passivity, entitlement, and hypersensitivity to criticism feels increasingly common — possibly amplified by online communities that frame men as perpetual victims of modern dating.
Why do some men expect women to do all the initiating?
Some men have absorbed the idea from certain podcasts and online spaces that pursuing a woman is beneath them, or that being chased signals higher status. As several readers noted, when called out on this, these men often frame their expectations as "modern" — while labeling any pushback as outdated.
What can you do if a date shows these red flags early on?
Trust your gut from the very first interaction. As these stories show, entitlement tends to reveal itself quickly — whether it's expecting a home-cooked meal after one coffee, asking for a shoulder massage on a first date, or refusing to plan anything at all. You don't owe anyone a second chance to prove they're worse.
