I know right from the start that this is going to be a very controversial article, but in order to understand our modern relationship dynamics it must be looked at.
Before I say too much I want to once again acknowledge that strong independent women have added a lot of value and have indeed become a strong fiber of our nation and who we are as a people.
This empowerment however truly is a double-edged sword. When it comes down to a long-term relationship or marriage, a woman who has her own independence essentially becomes a dueling force with her husband. She is not as 'simple' as her female counterparts in most of the world.
All of a sudden it is the man who is supposed to be in line with his wife and often just has to cater to all of her demands and needs (in extreme cases) as he feels his power slipping. It is not really an independent woman's fault necessarily for how she became who she is, it is just the reality that we in America (who are married to each other) have to deal with it. But she is who she is.
It is the natural and biological role for the man to be the head of the house (sorry feminists), however some interesting things have happened in the past three decades. Women today have more freedom and opportunity than ever before in history in our country here and now. This has created tremendous value, contribution and excitement as well to our culture.
Because of a woman's now inherent character and behavior, any man who chooses to be in any relationship with her for a longer-term, is going to have to put up with a lot more drama than really is natural (or prevalent in most of history before). This is the dilemma of millions of American men today. They are essentially being oppressed.
A woman is sometimes so strong in her own character and independence, that she will easily lead the family instead of the man. I know of several families specifically that are like this personally and I see the men bow their heads in low self-esteem. There really is a role reversal and is not natural; but as long as one person really is the head of the house then at least there is some semblance of balance.
Most American (marriage) relationships are '50/50' (or near there) where there is a power struggle (battle of the sexes) and it's going to take a lot of give and take and communication to make it work. Most often a man really can not just be his 100% self without fostering resentment or nagging on his wifes part.
This is not just a hard-core traditionalist approach, rather I want to teach you from the universal perspective of objectiveness. I'm not saying definitely whether it is right or wrong that a woman can wear the pants in the family, but I want you to the side for yourself what kind of man you are and what you want to put up with in the future. My father has been divorced several times because of these issues and cost in 100,000's of dollars.
If you end up or choose to be with one of these strong independent women, you are going to have a lot more oppression in your life than you realize, I can guarantee it. It is not in a man's inherent nature and being to be held back and repressed from his role as head of the household and provider or to be challenged in it. Look at the way our media portrays men on t.v. in sitcoms.
So many families today, the woman is the one in control and the man is just feeling more and more like the screen door hit him on the way out to take the trash. The fact that our media portrays this, as men being incompetent buffoons, truly cements this role reversal. And it is quite pathetic I think.
If you are married, I do not want to give you advice but you are responsible for the decisions you make and hopefully you can still communicate a lot and make things work. However many married men are finding they are in way too deep into a - continued below ...