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Usually it's a pattern of behaviour
that makes you feel liked and free to make choices in a relationship.
This includes being able to give an opinion, having time to spend
with friends and family, being able to follow your own interests
and comfortably meet your responsibilities at home, school and
work. |
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Write down a list
of things that you think men are brought up to expect that are
different from your expectations. Talk about it with your friends
or boyfriend and see what they have to say. Do you have female
friends who have different ideas about these differences than
your male friends? |
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Being in a good relationship means
you don't have to agree on everything, such as liking all of
each other's friends and interests, but it does mean respecting
each other's opinion and behaving well towards each other's friends
and family. It's being able to sort out differences about things
and friends that are important to you. |
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A good relationship has an established
pattern of listening to each other and working through differences
in very practical ways. For example, if you want to go shopping
with your friends on Saturdays, your boyfriend is able to do
something he likes that you're not so keen on, such as jamming
with friends. |
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People are willing to change in
good relationships. Some young men have some ideas about being entitled
to some things that women aren't. Respectful men will change
when you point out something is not fair and is causing you problems.
( If you find that you are having to repeat yourself frequently
and no long term change is happening you may be in an unfair, not
fair relationship.) |
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