I am a female asking..
Thank you to some of the ones that have answered my question.
I don't see why this could cause such uproar as if it was racism or something along those lines.
I was simply curious - yes a man can say all the right things, do all the right things (e.g. hold the door open, smile, learn enough about you to appear as if they've got the same interests, aspirations, etc. as you but not everyone can put their money where their mouth is). In my experience, it seems the ones who would actually be willing to take you on nice dates, spend money to buy flowers etc. often seem to care more than those who simply rely on their sense of humour and charm (they often turn out to be awful people) - yes it's not always the rule and there's tons of sleazy men who expect to bed you just coz they've bought you something which is very wrong.
I'm not saying a man is entitled to sleep with a woman just coz he paid a certain amount, nor am I saying a woman has to wait until she's had a certain amount of money spent on her before sleeping with him.
It seems fairly normally to ask "who (the man or the woman) pays for the first date"? so I don't feel this is a hugely worse question than that.
I know if the wrong person offered me even a million quid, I'd say no but I also know even if someone I reallyyyy liked hadn't spent a penny on me, I would also say no. It's not about financial profit (I'd happily buy them gifts of equal or greater value in exchange) but it's the thought.
Lots of people openly discuss the price of engagement rings and boast about it etc. - if what you're all saying is right, women should just expect a £5 plastic ring but nearly every bride gets a somewhat fancy ring - hardly means she was being selfish and only agreed to marry him for the ring.
The reason I asked was to gauge an idea on the current dating climate - we all know in the past, men would pay for a large proportion/all of it due to women not having careers, etc. and it's slowly moved to halfsies but there's always some women who expect a man to pay etc. I think it's a nice gesture - though really dislike the type of women who only go on the date for the free food and they intentionally order very expensive items e.g. steak, champagne etc