Letters to the Editor
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Maybe--deep down--women are uncomfortable with their own power
When I hear women complain about the male inability to respect intelligence and power in the opposite sex, I often wonder whether they share the same insecurities about female dominance. Is it possible that "successful" women like Traister and Dowd struggle in their search for a male companion because they are predisposed toward being attracted to men who are taller, older, richer, and stronger? Some will argue this mentality is evolutionary, and others will claim it's societal; but regardless of its origins, I find it to be more common than many of us would like to admit.
In her interview with Benjamin Kunkel about his novel, Indecision, Ms. Traister said, "That assumption, that generally young men are unworthy of their female counterparts, is certainly in your book. I would get hanged for saying it, but there's an uncomfortable truth there." Perhaps these men are worthwhile, contributing members of society, but because they don't occupy a status-level that is, at the very least, akin to that of Ms. Traister, she finds them sexually unappealing.
I've been a long-time believer in the benefits of feminism, and I generally have not wavered. But I've begun to wonder if women have unwittingly rendered men less attractive.