Originally I had written something which ended up as an angry rant against men in general. I read it back over and I wondered, why am I so angry? Even to myself it seemed too angry over issues that have been around since cave men and dinosaurs. Some things will not change.
Anyway, the issue I was writing about was not worth the energy and passion I had put into my rant about it. So I took a break and went downstairs to make coffee. I concluded that I'm not really angry at men. I'm angry because there is a stereotypical ideal which is built up in most women and one that no man can really live up to. Yet, we are taught to expect to find this stereotypical hero/ lover. In short, the perfect man. No human man is likely to ever be so perfect as the hero/ lover we read about in steamy romance novels, see on soap operas, daydream about in magazines, and so on. It's hard to let go of that illusion and the need for that perfect man in our lives.
Just imagine having that shining hero in chain mail and riding a white horse coming to your rescue, treating you like a lady (all the time) and making you feel so special and treasured, always knowing when you need to be taken care of and always being there to do it. Put the shoe on the other foot. Could you be that for someone else? Not likely, it's too much self sacrifice, too much intuition and too much to ask of anyone.
But, that doesn't change the fact that I've grown up looking for that man. I remember being in high school, reading those romance novels the other girls were reading. Always thinking how much better my life would be if I had a 30 year old man to love me, solve the problems, stick up for me, always be on my side and of course love me, cover me with affection while encouraging me to become the best me I could be. Don't laugh, I bet there are high school girls and grown women too who still hold on to that ideal. I admit I've got a firm grip on at least a corner of it myself.
But, that's fantasy. A pleasant, warm fuzzy fantasy that isn't going to happen. But, having to give up that fantasy hero/ lover isn't easy. It could make some women pretty angry at men. Myself, I'm going to work on forgiving them for not living up to all my expectations of perfection.
