How Do I Get My Ex Back After A Break-Up
Heterosexual relationships are admittedly the more convenient ones to be engaged in. State policies benefit marriages between man and woman more than homosexual relationships, and that includes tax breaks and maternity and paternity leaves along the way. There are more lenient religious norms for heterosexual couples as well. But despite such privileges, heterosexual relationships still are difficult for both man and woman, primarily because there are stereotypes and expectations that have to be met.
One such stereotype is the man being the head of the family, and the woman being the subservient one. We could always point fingers at religion and tradition, but neither of them could be escaped. The man is supposed to make decisions for the relationship, with the woman complying. The woman is supposed to be the more reserved person in the relationship, while the man the assertive one. Such stereotypes change when juxtaposed with the inclusion of the woman in the supposed man’s sphere – work and economy, politics, education. Based on studies, the more educated the woman is, and the higher the capacity of the woman to earn, the more power she yields in a relationship. And this erodes the delineations between the man and woman in a relationship. Both parties have to adjust in order to cope with their capacities and individual interests.
Most of the time, the man steps back and allows the woman to take some of the privileges earlier attributed to the man. But this is done not without difficulties for the male in the relationship. There is a constant struggle for the man to prove his masculinity, so to say, in traditional aspects. To be able to wield and yield control is that notion. So when the female starts to dominate the relationship, the male channels his masculine journey to other forms – going out with male friends more, or oftentimes, infidelity. Both tendencies are unacceptable in varying degrees for the modern woman. The relationship then tends to have glitches and falls apart.
Eharmony would say that the emergence of feminist power compromises the male side of the relationship. But this is not entirely true, because every relationship – homosexual and heterosexual relationships alike – is always an arena for negotiation. The entire trend could be viewed as a re-negotiation of the sexes. Before, women were more willing to compromise because they did not have many options and alternatives. Before, women were house fixtures. But today, the woman asserts herself more.
Such implies something in a good light: both man and woman now are pressured to work on their relationship more. The relationship then becomes more meaningful, because both parties are more reflective and reflexive in managing expectations and accepting each other’s uniqueness. When traditional relationships are formed because of necessity, modern relationships have a greater tendency to be founded on genuine love. Although love itself is something to be worked upon, it empowers both man and woman to make decisions, to take one step towards realizing the vow, “for better or worse”.
Of course, there is a tendency to fail in the attempt to work on the relationship. But that’s only one side of the coin. There is always that chance to be happy with each other. And that chance is something not worth missing.
