Man up, bro.

What do you have to lose?

Why haven’t you asked her out yet?

She’s waiting for you to make a move.

Those four sentences are the backbone of romantic society.

For centuries, men have tried to play Romeo, desperate to sweep women off their feet and secure their manhood.

While the way we speak, live and dress has changed, the basic principles of pursuit remain the same.

It’s no secret: The world wants us to live in a universe where boy meets girl, boy gets girl.

But should who asks whom really matter?

Romantic movies rarely depict anything other than a handsome man chasing a beautiful woman, followed by some variation of the guy screwing it all up, then promptly winning her back.

This theme trickles down from the media into the minds of our youth.

Florida Atlantic freshman Ali Elsagheer, a mechanical engineering major,  thinks that girls who ask guys out are “out of their minds,” saying that “it’s the way we have been living forever, it’s how we were raised. Maybe it’s something that could become normal, but not for us.” This sentiment is echoed by almost everyone I know, both men and women.

Essentially, we’re stuck.

Boys don’t like the idea of being asked out by a girl, and girls don’t want to take the risk of coming on too strong. Most people seem content with this system, and few care enough to question its foundation.

On the surface, this basic principle doesn’t seem very problematic, but it feels counteractive to where society is moving as a whole.

Not to say the system needs a dramatic overhaul, but we shouldn’t dissuade those who feel like going against the grain. Human relationships are complex, and children should not be presented with labeled boxes of what blossoming romance should look like.

I have never been asked on a date, and quite frankly I don’t know how I would react if a girl “acted like a man” and came after me. I might feel threatened, almost insufficient or I might feel flattered.

Either way, I will likely never find out simply because most women are afraid to act in such a manner. Things are the way they are, and this tradition has been around for quite a while.

Freshman elementary education major Alexis Kleinstein said, “Childhood movies like Cinderella really helped build my perception of the whole Prince Charming ideal,” adding that “a girl would have to be really bold to just go after a guy like that, but I wouldn’t judge her for it.”

However, just because things have always been this way doesn’t mean they have to stay the same. If two people feel drawn to each other, why should either of them wait around for something to happen?

In a world where time is of the essence, we would be foolish to waste it on dreams of a fairytale romance.

Miller Lepree is a contributing writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet @Miller_h97