‘Big Gift’, why not make it harder?

So once again Valentines Day is coming around. I think it can be equally depressing as it can be romantic, this of course depending on if you’re expecting a gift. You know I have always marvelled at those girls who get a gift from someone they are not in a relationship with, who actually have secret admirers. Now this slight jealousy I have comes on a few levels, but mainly because what I’ve come to realise is there is a huge issue in the buying of Valentines Day gifts, and I personally cannot take the inequality of the Gift giving market any more.
You see, it seems that when girls get around to buying a present for a boy; we are posed with more than a few problems. The fact of the matter seems to be that gift giving for males has been made easier by ‘Big Gift’, such as Hallmark, where girls are forced into thinking about exactly what to get. That’s right girls, we actually have to use brain power, and this severe inequality should not be allowed to stand.
When I sat on the bus to Teneriffe pondering what to get my boyfriend for Valentines day, I realised that it would be a lot harder than it seemed at first. For starters; he’s not the soppy type, so teddy bears are out instantly, although these would have once been viable perhaps for more romantic guys. I came to realise that in fact the issue to begin with was that the Stereotypical Valentines Day gifts were horribly sexist, and provided no alternatives of gifts for men. Teddies, chocolates, and flowers. These are all things that a girl would want to receive, but give a guy a bunch of roses, and they’re in the bin before you can even blink. Having said this, I am sure there are guys who are more in touch with their feminine romantic side, and would be happy with a teddy holding a heart. However the majority of the demographic of males would not appreciate these gifts, and this leaves us girls in complete despair as for what to give them. Although the sexist approach of ‘Big Gift’ gives us gifts we love; it leaves us out on a raft somewhere in the pacific, not sure where were going or even if anyone will help us.
This slide by ‘Big Gift’ means we actually have to put thought into our gifts, if we actually want it to mean something. It means we need to know our special someone enough to know what they may like, and also that we can’t just go down to the store, spend $100 on roses and walk out with our problem solved. I do want to know why ‘Big Gift’ has made the assumption we will put in more effort? Is it because we females have become so predictable that they expect us to throw our hearts and souls into creating the perfect gift? Or is it that they know guys aren’t going to want to put in this effort, and they can gain the most profit from them? Maybe it’s a combination of the two, the perfect way for ‘Big Gift’ to roll in the dollars from our love for one another that has been so carelessly materialised by expensive gifts, that either die in 2 days or get eaten. It just does not seem fair to me that we as woman must do all the work. The work that actually involves thinking, and not just money.
Although maybe its just that ‘Big Gift’ thinks its too much effort for them to create a more gender neutral range of gifts, especially when the stereotypical girls like me will make something anyway.