Women Are the New Men

When Kate Taylor published her article in the New York Times about sex on college campuses it cut right to the loins of men.

How could this be? Young women are actually not looking for a Mrs. degree, or even a committed relationship? Instead, college campuses, including the prestigious Ivy League, are packed with women who are ambitious and dedicated to their GPAs. They are fine with having casual sex without the drama of wondering where their dating scenarios are heading.
“Hooking up” seems to be the new M.O. for millennial women. This is certainly throwing a curve ball at men, who were used to being in charge when it came to making decisions about the significance of a relationship, as well as when to — or not to — engage in recreational sex.

So how does this new way of thinking change the landscape of the dating world as it pertains to traditional roles?

Women are making their way in the world into places not seen in previous generations. There are more women than men enrolled in college as well as obtaining driver’s licenses. Females are overtaking the boardroom as the CEOs, taking the positions of partners in law firms and running the show as surgeons in the operating room. Gone are the days of the male dominated work place.

With this new ambition comes role change. Now women are carrying the brief cases rather than wearing aprons and waiting, martini in hand, for their breadwinning husbands to return from work. They are climbing the corporate ladder and the concept of marriage and children is far from at the top of their agendas.

Sex, once dictated by the man’s needs, is now often paced by women, who are increasingly fine having need-based physical connections. Women are no longer focused on the roller coaster ride of wondering where a relationship is going — or if the man will ever call again. They are satisfying their desires by night and then showing up at the office to lay down the business agenda by day. Women are not focusing on getting in the good graces of a man so that they can hopefully enter into a relationship that leads to a rock on their finger and a baby bump shortly thereafter. (Imagine that!) Instead, men are getting a good dose of an increasingly leveled playing field.

So, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

For the men, it is a huge adjustment to not only have a woman as their boss, but now their private lives are being controlled by the women who are having their way with them and moving on.

I think it is a positive that women are thinking about their careers and making a foundation for themselves by using their education as opposed to walking down an aisle prematurely because they are concentrating on their ticking biological clocks.

Whether it be in our backyard at Penn, or across the nation, women are empowering themselves in every aspect of their lives. Note to the ladies in the forefront: You have taken over the population and are increasingly taking over leadership roles in the work force, but the bottom line is when it comes to settling down, the men definitely still have major leverage since they are in the minority and statistically have so many women to pick from. Careful what you wish for. It may be lonely at the top all by yourself.