red flags?? are you a moron? What sort of red flags are caused by somebody wanting to show their parents a bit of respect? It just demonstrates she values her parents' opinions, and there is NOTHING red-flag-ish about that. I'm not saying he SHOULD be asking for permission, but it's fine if he wants to/she wants him to. It's just a respect thing. There'd be red flags going up if, after a year or two of dating, she still wouldn't do a single thing without checking with her parents first. But for a "first date"? Take a chill pill. Just because people do things a bit differently to you doesn't mean there should be red flags going up.

I agree that this isn't going anywhere if she needs her boyfriend to ask her parent's permission. Why can't she deal with her parents herself? She's the one who needs balls. This is a bit different if she's still in high school and has super conservative parents. If so, you should probably also dump her now, because this isn't the first problem with them you'll run into. Wait until she's in college in a different state, then date her.

The FML states its been almost a year. If it was a case of just wanting their opinion of the guy, that would be a different situation entirely. I'm the same way - I prefer having my family's opinion of my boyfriend then not, but that doesn't mean he should be dropped if they don't love him. However, the FML is saying she needs their PERMISSION. As in, she's not allowed to date without their say-so? That is bullshit, and shows that she is incapable of making independent decisions on her own. She needs to grow up by a few years before having a mature relationship.