Over at trouble's place there is a interesting "battle of the sexes"-type discussion going on in the comments to this post. Here is my opening comment, just to give flava:

He wasn't a real dog, per se. Small dogs often aren't.

Cat in a dog suit.

Women are the natural civilizers. We polish the men up, make them have manners, stabilize them.

Uhhh... right. Little secret, we hate that.

---Begin Rant ---

Men treated in this way conform because they are thinking with the "wrong head". The changes that women like to think are "good for us" are the biggest cause of "trouble" (heh, couldn't resist) down the road. We hope that we can live within the new rules, but still retain our essential “maleness”.

Since we value our “maleness”, men almost never seek to change the women they love (generally speaking). Women keep their friends, their hobbies and their routine. We work ourselves into their world hopeful that this new world will grow to include us and our needs. So we ditch our friends, swear off sports, give up our lifestyle and adapt to a new routine. Somewhere between mowing the lawn at 1:00pm EST on Fall Sundays, going to church and saving for that new dining room set we sometimes hear the call of our old buddies.

When men stray it is rarely about sex (lack thereof or quality of) but about the inner realization that they are no longer men. They have rules of conduct imposed from outside without what they now perceive as adequate compensation. They often feel strong inner conflict between the “protector/provider gene” and the repressed essence of male-ness. Our internal need for honor and respect come into conflict with the rules imposed on us. These conflicts are in every committed male.

We don’t often admit to having deeply felt emotions, but we do and they must be different from the emotions that women feel. The women that understand that and are willing to act on that knowledge will have very happy and deeply committed men in their lives.

--- End Rant ---

When women showed up in nearly equal ratios, the wives and daughters and mothers, chaos turned to order. Schools and churches and sidewalks and roads and public libraries were built.

And the Men died a little for each change.


Well OK, now End Rant. ;)