Hate to be a guy butting in where “it’s just us ladies here,” but I might be able to enlighten a small point. You say that “the appeal of men [is] partially for that darned sense of safety. I say ‘darned’ because men don’t need it as much as we sometimes do.” Nope, we don’t. But we need to PROVIDE that sense of safety to be fulfilled. When a woman is in our arms with her head on our shoulder feeling safe, we feel that all is right in the world. Without that, the world can be a cold empty place. At least, that’s my perspective.
Hmmmm....I began to think ‘ah but you (men) don’t know what you’re missing (sense of safety)!’ and then I realized perhaps I don’t know what I’m missing (the ability to grant that sense of safety). :)
I wonder if you and I are both speaking in the past tense though - the modern male is a little more stressed out and wishing the women in his life were a little more self sufficient that way.