maintenance

I confess...I just don't know.

I often think about whether or not I'm "high maintenance." I don't require fancy clothes, I don't wear make-up, I don't need the latest shoes. My purse is years old and the zipper is frayed. I'd rather be wearing my PJs than anything fancy. I hate spending money on clothes.

But then again...I'm beyond rigid when it comes to food and my habits aren't cheap...I like the pricier yogurt and "fancy" ramen. I need my routines. I need a lot of reassurances. And I do HATE when my hair gets frizzy. Do those things mean I'm high maintenance, just in my own way?

Now that I'm thinking more about it...Why is it that it is women who tend to be deemed high maintenance? A man may be one to like fancy things, but he doesn't get the same label. And the label difference remains even when the woman is perfectly capable of maintaining herself. Is it a throwback to a time before that...when women were largely dependent financially....and will it pass into oblivion with dowries and the like?

Editing to add....Thinking about it, the closest term we have for a high maintenance man is a metrosexual. Which itself suggests there's something un-manly and female about the state. And I think it's more often used with a bit of a negative connotation...sometimes it can be neutral, but really rarely is the term metrosexual cast in a totally positive light.