That's my issue with real equal relationships. There is no permanence. Which I guess is a good thing if you pride yourself on being a woman who doesn't "need" a man in your life, but not such a good thing if you want to win a contest of having "better" relationships. Being able and willing to change a relationship as often as you buy a new pair of shoes is not the mark of devotion and loyalty required for a good relationship. Good long term relationships are not frivolous or disposable.

I agree that relationships should not be frivolous or disposable. I take mine very seriously, and have been working on it for a long time. Before getting engaged, my fiance and I had been best friends for almost 10 years. We dated for about half of those. We lived together. We talked a lot about what we both wanted out of life to make sure we wouldn't be surprised by any deal breakers.

I am completely sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with this man, and he's completely sure that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. If we were not sure of this, we would not be engaged. We're in it for the long haul (and research indicates we've got a pretty slim chance of divorcing once we tie the knot next year given our ages and education levels).

I'm not sure why you think egalitarian relationships don't mean that partners don't try to work through conflicts. It seems like you think egalitarian relationships involve both partners being selfish, but I see them as relationships in which both partners are willing to sacrifice for the good of the couple. My fiance and I have faced conflicts. For example, his job required him to leave New York and move to a (in my opinion, nightmarish) Midwestern state. We discussed it and weighed options, and eventually I followed him there because I could find work there; it made sense for me to sacrifice a little bit so that we could continue to grow as a couple. Now, I'm on-track for several big promotions and even though he could move for more opportunity, he's chosen to put that off for several years to support me in my career.

Obviously we can't know everything about each other, and things can always change, but we've stayed together even when it hasn't been easy and even when it's required one of us to sacrifice our individual wants for the good of what our partnership needed to continue to grow and flourish. It's prioritizing the relationship above the individual.