Are Men Necessary?

Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition. --Timothy Leary

This is one of my favorite quotes. I might shock/tick off some of my readers when I say this: I am not a feminist. I'm not a supporter of that philosophy or mindframe. My problem with the feminist revolution is this: It is based on the notion that women, just how they are naturally, are not good enough. That they need to act like men in order to be happy. That being around men (working for them, cooking for them, etc.) makes us unhappy. Last time I checked, I could not be more feminine and I've never been happier. I love being a woman and I've never once had gender envy. And I absolutely adore men just how they are! I'd like to ask all the feminists: Why is it the women who have to change? To me, a true feminist revolution would entail men trying to behave more like women. That makes much more sense to me. (Although, maybe that's what Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is all about!)

In this post, I'm talking to the average and fairly feminine women, the closet Marthas, the ones who adore being a woman and doing domestic things but feel that they are less of a person for liking it or feel they should be ashamed for not embracing the feminist revolution. I'm talking to the women who hate men or don't appreciate them. This post is also for men who feel that they have nothing to offer the modern woman.

I think there is nothing to be ashamed of in being able to make a delicious chocolate cake, mend a sock or scrub a bathtub spotless. These kinds of things make life nicer. What's wrong with that? Someone has to do it, and last time I checked, most men are not very good at these things. I believe women are just more naturally inclined to do these sorts of things better than men. I'm not saying all women, just most. Some women are great at crunching numbers or buying out companies or planning business proposals. That is amazing and admirable as well. These women are awesome and every bit of woman as possible. They are just rare. And men who can cook and clean are awesome too! They are just rare.

Sure, you can comment to me about the whole "gender spectrum" or tell me that a trannie is just as feminine as a woman. Fine. I'll give you that. But regardless of what package it comes in or which gender they are attracted to, there are pretty much two types of people in the world: those who enjoy behaving like a stereotypical woman and those who prefer acting in the stereotypical male behavior.

I don't understand why our society is so caught up on trying to prove that women can do everything a man can do because it's silly. Last time I checked, men can't have babies, but you don't hear them say they're feeling jealous or inferior. And women can't open every jar that comes their way or bench press nearly as much as most men. Regardless of what kind of a job you have, ladies, there are some things we just can't do. And I am not only referring to physical body-related things, because I think we can all agree that men are physically stronger than women.

How many men can have enough sympathy in a movie theater to cry when a character dies? Very few. This is because few men have the ability to understand how anyone (other than themselves) feels. They just aren't wired like that. How many women truly understand football? Very few. That is because few women really understand the urgent need to toss around a ball while risking life and limb. I could go on, but you get my drift. We are just different. And that's ok.

I was reading Mom of 3's blog where she talks about how nowadays some men feel that they are unnecessary in our society. Women can now do everything that they want without needing a man's help. This is true.....sort of. I feel the need to remind men that they are indeed necessary and valuable in our society. Otherwise, we would have killed you guys off a long time ago. Trust me.

I propose that instead of trying to "prove" which gender is more capable of succeeding in this world, we instead embrace our differences and appreciate one another. I think that we are the ying to the male yang, ladies. (Or are we the yang? I'm not sure.) Together, we make the world go around. I think it takes two. And to prove it, here are ten reasons why I think men are great.

1. They make us feel safe when there are bad guys around. No amount of kickboxing knowledge will save us from the creepy guy who is following us down the deserted street. (The situation is different if the bad guy is breaking into our house. Women have guns and big dogs for that.)

2. Men remind us to relax and chill out. They don't get their noses out of joint if we don't vacuum, forget the dry-cleaning, order a pizza instead of cooking or look at us funny if we throw on sweatpants to run errands. Women are pretty critical, I must say.

3. This one is just my humble opinion, but I think men are funnier than women. Very few female comediennes will get me to the point where I have tears streaming down my face from laughing.

4. While women are brave and strong in certain ways, men are brave and strong in other ways. Like when it comes to killing large insects. Or moving furniture. We really appreciate it, guys!

5. Sometimes being emotional can be exhausting. Men are so easy to be around because they don't always feel the need to talk or bitch. Usually they just want to have a good time or get s--t done. News flash--women need that and appreciate it sometimes!

6. Men are usually more honest. They will tell us when we are being stupid or call us out on stuff. Women are too worried about being polite. It's nice to know truly what someone thinks. This does not mean that men are not incapable of hurting our feelings with their honesty. They do that a lot. But most of the time, it's good.

7. Men appreciate things women do not normally appreciate. They gush over a homecooked meal or made from scratch cookies much more than a female pal does. They appreciate it when we put forth effort to look nice. Not that our girlfriends don't care, but they just don't appreciate it as much.

8. Men think we are hot. They love the big booties that we hate having, they want to feel our boobies no matter the size and they think we smell really good. Men are good for our egos.

9. Men are hot. That alone is enough to get my vote for keeping them around. One of the main reasons I go to the gym is to ogle all the muscles and check out their butts. Sometimes men even smell good, too. Besides, electronic devices can only do so much.

10. Fill in your own reason here. Every man has a wonderful unique trait that you, as a woman, don't possess. Appreciate it! And maybe they will appreciate us more, too!