I’ve always been irritated by the sorts of articles that you see in womens magazines on this topic, as they were so obviously not written after actually, you know, talking to guys. Indeed a lot of guys are reluctant to talk about themselves and their issues, so how lucky we are to have plenty of feminist women ready to fill the vacuum by putting words in our mouths.
As a consequence I was just thinking about writing a post on the issue only to then come across this recent article entitled “10 annoying myths women believe about men”.
Have a read and then come back and let me know what you think.
One thing not specifically mentioned in this article is that men like to work (and play) within a consistent decision-making framework. Ideally that framework is arrived at democratically, byt failing that even an imposed framework is better that none. It drives men crazy when both the rules of engagement, and the goalposts, vary from one day to the next with the same woman … and from one woman to the next on the very same day. Men are thus continually ‘walking on eggshells’ and can rarely relax in the knowledge that they are doing the right thing by women.
Is it any wonder that many simply throw up their hands in frustration and endeavour to remove themselves from the fray as much as possible?
I believe that this is one for the reasons for the increasing number of men choosing partners from non-western backgrounds. Feminists would have us believe that such men go looking for submissive house-keepers, and this is correct in a small minority of cases. Usually though, guys are drawn towards a partner who has a consistent and usually complementary (rather than competitive or combative) approach towards nurturing and maintaining a relationship.
I came across an article about an Australian report compiled in late 2013 by advertising agency M&C Saatchi which is entitled ‘The Modern [Aussie] Man‘. The article includes links to some media coverage about the report, including these three negative ones in the Fairfax ‘Daily Life’ blog, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Guardian. I’d recommend you take the time to also read those articles, as well as other linked resources and related readers comments.
See also:
http://menaregood.com/wordpress/ladies-how-can-you-get-emotionally-close-to-the-men-you-love/
http://misfitpolitics.co/2014/04/brutally-honest-things-i-and-other-men-truly-think-about-feminism/
I’ll be returning to expand this post in the near future.