Valentine's Day is simply a commercial celebration of heteropatriarchy

[crunchymint]

Heteropatriarchy means everything that promotes the idea that we should be in monogamous opposite sex relationships. So our culture that promotes this as the ideal way to live, and practical issues such as available housing and legal protection in the form of marriage, that make this the easiest choice.
Valentine's Day celebrates this through commercialisation that urges you to spend lots of money, to show that you really do love that person of the opposite sex you are in a monogamous relationship with.

None of the "cumpulsory" you must care and show devotion days are compulsory. There are plenty of reasons to ignore them but I don't think yours is a particularly strong one.

I don't bother with any of Valentine's, Mother's or Father's day. A random "saw this and thought you'd like it" given on any random day means more (well to me anyway)

You mean you don't celebrate corporate love day?
I bought dh an ironing board. I was hoping for a new kitchen bin but he let me down :(

Odinia What about lesbian couples who have children?

DH and I have always considered it to be commercially driven bobbins and have been a bit bemused at people who buy cards and go out for meals at twice the usual price. Slightly amused by DS2’s feeling of obligation re his girlfriend but since it’s Ash Wednesday I think she rightly took the view he wouldn’t be up for a big night out.....

The embodiment of heteropAtriarchy .

We are a lesbian couple who never celebrate Valentine's day. But my DW's birthday is the day before so that has a lot to do with it.

Still hoping some chocolates might appear before the day is out

Nice cards from the DC, though.

You could make the argument that holidays (package type deals) are heteronormative - all the adverts for them feature heterosexual couples and often children...

As another poster says whilst it's nice to acknowledge same sex couples if the vast majority of the market are hetero then I can see why most of the marketing reflects that.

Having said that I am in a hetero relationship and so perhaps I am blind to it.