There is this cultural standard, that only a man can ask a woman out, or that only a man can make the first move. But this is complete nonsense! Getting up the courage to make the first move in the first place is nerve wracking no matter what gender you are.
We are all looking for love, male and female and those rules that used to govern proper social behaviour in the Victorian era are hardly relevant today, so why do we still pay them any attention? If a man is trying to find a girlfriend, then he is willing to put himself out there, prepared for failure but hoping for success.
And women are exactly the same. There are all kinds of standards that we impose unnecessarily on ourselves, but really it is just about having a conversation with someone.
If the conversation is a good one, and you feel stimulated and interested and want to see the person again then you are dating. And this is true no matter what gender you are.
Dating can be stressful mostly because we are always terrified about what people think about us. But if we realise that everyone is in the same boat – that we are all just trying to find a person to laugh with and cook with then maybe it will take some of the pressure off.