Posted on 12/28/2010 7:18:34 AM PST by Kaslin
In my previous column, I offered an answer to the question: What do men want?
I made the case that what men most want from the woman they love is to be admired.
If my answer is correct, and if we presume that the natures of men and women are complementary (a presumption many men and women understandably doubt given how often men and women do not get along), what women most want must be related to that which men most want.
I believe it is.
What a woman most wants is to be loved by a man she admires.
I am well aware that to say this today is akin to announcing that the sun revolves around the Earth. For half a century, we have been told that what women most want is professional success and equality. And to the extent that a modern "liberated" woman does admit to wanting a man to love, she will say that she wants a "partner" who is her "equal." And girls and women have been told -- or, more accurately, have had drummed into them -- that equality means that both sexes are essentially the same (except for the physical differences) and therefore want the same things. Equality and sameness have been rendered synonymous. That is why she cannot say -- and ideally wouldn't even admit to herself -- that she wants a man to admire; that would be "sexist," as it would imply an unequal relationship.
The notion that a woman most wants a man, admirable or not, has been scoffed at. This was encapsulated by the famous feminist slogan "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle." Even feminism that did not agree with the fish-bicycle metaphor communicated to young women that an "authentic" woman would not have as her greatest desire to bond with a man.
Today, feminism holds less appeal for young women than it did for the previous generation, but "equality" remains the liberal god of the day. That renders my theory -- that a woman wants to be cherished by a man she admires -- politically incorrect in the extreme.
It is problematic enough to say that a woman most wants a man. But that pales compared to the claim that she most wants a man whom she admires. That seems to affirm gender inequality. The image it conjures up is of a woman looking up to her man as if he were some sort of lord and she his serf.
Yet, any woman who believes that she is married to an admirable man would laugh at such a dismissal. Admiring one's husband doesn't render a woman a serf. It renders her fortunate.
The truth is that almost nothing -- including job success -- elevates a woman in her own eyes as much as being loved by a husband whom she admires. That is why when married women get together, they don't talk about their jobs nearly as much as men do. They talk, among other things, about their man if they are proud of him, and complain about him if they are not. Even most feminists are happiest when married to a man they admire.
And what is it that women most admire in a man? From decades of talking to women on the radio and, of course, from simply living life, I have concluded that an admirable man is one who has three qualities: strength, integrity and ambition.
All three are needed. Strength without integrity is machismo. Integrity without strength or without ambition is a milquetoast. And ambition without integrity is a successful crook.
Women are drawn to strong men. Though many men, when asked the secret to their long marriage, answer, "I learned to always say, 'Yes, Dear,'" the truth is that most women are not attracted to "Yes, Dear" men who always give in to a woman's whim. They are attracted to a man who exhibits strength in the outer world and at home as husband and father.
But that strength must come with integrity. If it doesn't, he is a strong bad man. And while more than a few women fall for bad men (precisely because of the power of masculine strength to attract women), most women do not want such a man over the long run.
And ambition does not mean that he is necessarily rich, but that he is a hard worker who wants to improve himself; plenty of men who earn relatively little are admired and loved by their wives. That is why a major "turn-off" to most women is a husband who sits and watches television all night (let alone all day).
The beauty of all this is that it all comes together for men, for women and for society.
Women get what they want most: to be married to and loved by a man they admire. Men then attain what they want most: to be admired by the woman they love. And society gets the thing it most needs: admirable men.
Unfortunately, none of this is taught at college.
Perhaps the problem is it is indeed the norm, just buried beneath layers of hollywood expectations. Glad to hear from other Freeper gals too! Stuff equals slavery to it and the accumulation of more of it. Two great cars, a manageable house, cash for vacations and necessary expenses... and a man who will fight to protect me and love me. I am not talking about a Benz, OMG... I love to drive, so a Vette and a truck. I will never pay more than twenty bucks for a purse, just one of the examples of insanity I hear about every day.
Now, that was funny, I don’t care who you are.
LOL
Exactly. Watch one hour of network tv and notice how men are portrayed. It’s no wonder we are jaded.
She IS in the majority.
With all due respect, perhaps you are not looking in the right places.
I agree 100%.
Better yet, *don’t* watch one hour of network tv ... ever. Out in the Real World, there are hardworking, friendly, fun, and considerate people, both men and women. They live on my street, go to my church, attend my Weight Watchers meeting, work at my Walmart ...
Of course. How stupid of me. It’s my fault for not “looking in the right places”. What was I thinking?
I’ll deal with that tomorrow, kiddo.
Some of us out west need our beauty rest. I know you’ll understand.
:)
I don’t watch network tv, but the devaluation of men permeates our society. Just look at the President. He is barely a man, and would not be elected dogcatcher 50 years ago. Regardless of his race.
You do have an excellent point about Zero ...
An unabashed gold digger and a struggling writer/gigolo find love while engaging in activities which include stealing for fun at a five and dime. What a fairy tale... /s
A better title would be "What a man will do for a piece of ###"
What Do Women Want?
A woman wants her own way.
Pretty much an ender right there.
RE: Did you watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s last night on TCM?
Not last night but I’ve seen it more than once.
The movie was made in 1961 (with no sex scenes at all ), but we still get what you’re driving at.
I don’t believe what Audrey Hepburn’s character wants is what most women want today (or am I wrong??).
I have to admit I am a sucker for her MOON RIVER scene.
It seems like all the ones I have encountered are like what I describe ultimately after spending time with them.
Maybe I encounter this type of women because of my personality. They take advantage of my generosity and kindness.
Moon River is beautiful. I wonder why the characters had to have a tragic side to them that was never addressed. If she was only a woman looking for a successful husband and he was more noble, the story would have been stronger IMO. I guess the point is that love was supposed to teach them both the error of their ways, but that's very naive.
At the end of the movie I thought her mood would change in 5 minutes and God knows how far he'd go to destroy himself chasing her.
“I have never met a woman that was not like this.”
Hi. I’m coop71. It’s nice to meet you.
There you go. Now you can say you’ve met a woman who is not like “this”.
You know what women want? It’s not money or a fancy car or diamonds...that “theory” is absurd. Look at all the women who marry guys with no money.
Most women want a man who can self-regulate his temperament and habits. What’s that mean? It means not yelling at a waiter or cashier. Not playing video games or watching sports all the time. Sometimes is fine. It means working hard, but not too hard (ignoring the family). It means not working or not making an effort to find work is unacceptable. It means not rolling over and taking crap from anyone (but not flipping out at the slightest provocation). It means taking responsibility for one’s actions and not blaming others (Read any divorce threads here?). It means cultivating interests and hobbies that the man loves and makes him happy, but not obsessing over them and ignoring the woman. It means not making the woman his sole interest and hobby and ignoring himself. Oh, and a sense of humor.
And I hope a man wants the same in a woman.
Sounds like you have been used and abused. :(
That’s never good, no matter who is on the receiving end. I don’t know you or your situation, but maybe it would help if you looked for conservative women in a conservative Church? Most of the women I know who are conservative believers would not do what you described.
Aristotle wrote about what you said thousands of years ago.
It’s called the GOLDEN MEAN:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_mean_(philosophy)
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