The Men They Are A Changin'

What do men want? This is a question that, believe it or not, a lot of women do ask. And just like its parallel, which men have been asking for centuries, the answers are still elusive. What it all seems to boil down to is someone who fulfils them and with whom they are able to share a life and / or family with. Someone who makes them feel good both emotionally and physically and someone they can relate to. Perhaps a more interesting question in the battle of the sexes today is however, how will they get it?

I recently read that with the advent of women in the workforce, the old male bastions have been crumbling and as a result, the restructuring of man’s role and function within society is still undergoing a shift. Basically, it would appear that women have been changing the rules. Women decided they would no longer accept the patriarchal attitudes of former generations. They are simply not interested in men who believe their partners should not aspire to the same levels as their male peers and should instead be satisfied with the roles of wife and mother.

This is not the only shift we have seen however. Not only do women want someone who will allow them to reach the goals traditionally reserved for men but they also want to be supported in this quest. They want their partners to recognise the achievement of maintaining both a home life and a business life and to be more in tune with them emotionally. Men once again were expected to change and as a result of this the Sensitive New Age Guy, or SNAG, was born. But like any work in progress it seems, this was merely a rough draft to be refined upon and improved.

Finding the stereotypical SNAG to be somewhat weak and unimpressive, women started calling for partners who were not just blokes but rather men. Masculine in appearance and demeanour but possessing a sense of style appealing to women in general. They wanted men who were both assertive and considerate and who took a real pride in their appearance. Due to this, men have been gradually coming up to bat, re-branding themselves as Metrosexuals. Initially seen widely as putting men in a weaker position, with the growing tolerance for the gay community, and more recently the success of the Fab 5, this ideal has become more and more acceptable.

Even now though, when Metrosexuals abound and SNAGs are almost a thing of the past, there are general whispers of the female population’s general dissatisfaction with the quality of single males out there. We hear stories of women being increasingly fickle in their selection of partners and can only wonder if, as a collective group, women are about to raise the bar yet again. For the past couple of decades, women have undoubtedly expected men to dance to their tune but perhaps we should all now be asking is this a case of necessity is the mother of invention or pride goeth before a fall?