The New York Times' Maureen Dowd has a bitter op-ed today claiming that Men Just Want Mommy (registration required).
A few years ago at a White House Correspondents' dinner, I met a very beautiful actress. Within moments, she blurted out: "I can't believe I'm 46 and not married. Men only want to marry their personal assistants or P.R. women."I'd been noticing a trend along these lines, as famous and powerful men took up with the young women whose job it was to tend to them and care for them in some way: their secretaries, assistants, nannies, caterers, flight attendants, researchers and fact-checkers.
This isn't a new trend -- it's as old as sex itself. Men want women who will support and affirm them. Despite Ms. Dowd's interpretation, men don't want stupid or uneducated women (except for the stupid or uneducated men); furthermore, it's pretty disgusting for Ms. Dowd to propagate the stereotype that women in service jobs are stupider or less educated than she is -- how elitist!
A new study by psychology researchers at the University of Michigan, using college undergraduates, suggests that men going for long-term relationships would rather marry women in subordinate jobs than women who are supervisors.As Dr. Stephanie Brown, the lead author of the study, summed it up for reporters: "Powerful women are at a disadvantage in the marriage market because men may prefer to marry less-accomplished women." Men think that women with important jobs are more likely to cheat on them.
Not only the risk of cheating, but it's pretty difficult for two busy people to coordinate schedules and run a family. Men and women both want relationships with people that will have time and energy for them, and it's no surprise that a successful man will prefer to be with a woman who has time to be around.
The reality is that the feminist illusion advocated by Ms. Dowd and her peers is crashing down. Feminism told women that they don't need men to be happy; they can be fulfilled and successful without relationships. So women believed it and built their lives around that principle, and now it turns out that they aren't happy and they blame it on men who don't want to be with the type of person they've become. They say men don't want to be challenged, or men just want their mommy, but it's all just smokescreen. Men want women, that's all -- they don't want women who do everything in their power to be just like men.
Maureen Dowd has everything a feminist could want. She's at the pinnacle of her profession, an opinion-leader, wealthy, famous, and yet she appears to be very unhappy and bitter. Why? Is she lonely? If your relationships are out of whack, there isn't much else in life that can compensate.
It's interesting to note that there's never been a "masculinist" movement. Men know that we need women, and the idea of living apart or without them is absurd.
Update:
Commenter Eric makes an excellent observation:
Here's another news flash for Ms. Dowd: high school women are 100% more likely to date a guy on the football team than a guy in the computer club. Sexual egalitarianism now!!
Indeed.
