Men can make it work to our advantage. I did, but by accident. She was 29. I was 30. She was a local beauty queen and the valedictorian of her college class. I was a captain in the Marine Corps. She was tired of jerks and homosexuals and knew that her clock was ticking. I had bought all of the toys (fast cars, plenty of guns, etc..) so there was no real desire to acquire more and knew that she was a lot better than those that I had gone out with before. One year later we were married. Now 14 years later, I'm still in the Corps, have a great wife (intelligent, caring, beautiful (still 10 lbs within her beauty pageant days), and puts up with me) and two great kids.
Just use their needs to fit our needs. I'm certain it works for both sexes. However, blaming the times or the other side will only make you bitter.
Without meaning to sound too weepy, I am happy for both of you. And thank you for your service to our nation.