Does it make sense, in 2005, that Valentine's Day is still focused on women? Think of all the jewelry and flower commercials, on radio and TV, asking men to remember their women on February 14th. No commercials asking women to splurge on their men, are there?

My book, The Man's No-Nonsense Guide to Women: How to Succeed in Romance on Planet Earth, gets to the "heart" of this matter. I am anti-Venus/Mars and believe old-fashioned dating protocols are responsible for relationship-killing double standards and the high divorce rate. Men and women are virtually the same and want the same things. Unfortunately, we've been socialized differently and programmed for conflict.

Our culture, despite the professional and financial progress of women, continues to view romance as a one-way street, from men to women. Don't women view their men as sweethearts, with equal desire to please them on Valentine's Day? If so, why doesn't the holiday feel that way?

If you think I'm just bloviating, the National Retail Federation states that men outspent their women more than 3:1 on Valentine's Day, 2003. Read the following from an NRF press release:

Most American men are going all out for Valentine's Day, according to the findings of a new National Retail Federation (NRF) survey. The NRF 2003 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF, found that men are ready to spend this holiday, with the average man planning to spend $125.96 on Valentine's Day. Women, on the other hand, plan to spend $38.22.

"It seems very clear to us this year that most men plan to celebrate Valentine's Day in very traditional ways," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. "The average man is planning on a big celebration - sending flowers, giving a card and taking his wife or significant other on an evening out."

Enough said.