Dana wrote:davewe, from your post on May 15th
"The problem is in this generation in the West, when women believe they can take care of themselves (financially and otherwise) women no longer look at men for masculine characteristics but for feminine characteristics (looking good). And men have bought into it completely, often foregoing hard work toward a career and building a good life to spend countless hours in the gym or in front of the mirror."
Lol, what the hell is "feminine" about looking like a stud muffin that chicks dig!?
There's nothing wrong with it, all things being equal. Everyone like stuff that looks purdy, but you miss the point, probably cause you live in the West. When men leave the West they meet women far more interested in their masculine characteristics (protective and care taking). Those are considered more attractive and certainly more masculine than whether the guy looks like a pretty boy gay actor in a vampire movie.
Let's reverse the scenario. How many men are interested in a woman because she has a good job or has built a career or even because she makes good money? Very few (none really). Men are only interested in her physical/sexual characteristics. Now women may value other women's success in life, but men could not care at all. We are attracted solely to the physical - it's evolutionary. Equally evolutionary is a woman's attraction to masculine characteristics: can he protect her and her kids; can he take care of them so that the next generation survives.
The whole point is that traditionally men had more power in relationships and it was the woman's job to look physically great and the man's job to build his life, his character, and take care of the family. Today, when women in the West hold more power in relationships, they demand that men not only look good but subjugate themselves to women's "power." Nothing wrong with it I suppose; I'd do it too if I were a woman. We men here have discovered that moving or traveling abroad changes the balance of power and reestablishes gender identities. Beyond just the fact that many Western guys have more success abroad, we have discovered that we can be men again; that those masculine characteristics are more valued. For us it's liberating.