Is it alright for the man to pay for everything in a relationship?

Having just lost a friend who refused to even enter a conversation on the matter (guess why), I find myself wondering: is it ever alright for the man in a heterosexual relationship to pay for everything?

I know from personal experience that the expectation that I'll pick up the cheque wears incredibly thin by say, month two. Great Odin knows that I've had spectacular fights with The Woman In My Life about finances.

But what if, say, the man is a lot wealthier than the woman? Is it alright then for the Man to pay for everything? My immediate reaction is still "no", as it distorts the power relationship between the two. The woman becomes a kept woman, the man becomes the patriarch.

I would make an exception, I suppose, for those situations where the woman's at home, looking after the children. (Or vice versa). Here, there's a division of duties.

So, I reserve my opinion only for those situations where the man and the woman are both professionals, earning salaries. Under these circumstances it seems decidedly unfeminist - that is, it puts the woman at a disadvantage in the relationship. Not to mention conforming to at least one gender stereotype - potentially making the others?

What if it were the other way around? Sly Loki knows that I've taken enough from my mother. What if I went out with a millionairress - would it be fair for me to let her pay for everything? It would be inevitable that she paid the bulk, I suppose, but I would be uncomfortable not putting in as much as I'm able.

It's no doubt relationships differ, but it seems to me, to be asking for trouble (and to be somewhat "unfair" for want of a better word) to let the man assume the entire financial burden.

Am I wrong?