Maybe I will be perceived as one of those insecure middle-aged men who is "terrified" of women, as labeled by another poster on here, but I assure you, I'm not.

First of all, I'm gay, so I'm just here to provide a more unbiased and alternative look at the reality of what the world is nowadays when it comes to what I see between men and women. Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I don't have s lot of straight friends and I've stood on the sidelines watching their lives play out quite often. And as I've offered my observations, I've had many a "Barbie" say, 'Yeah, I never thought of that,' when explaining how men think, and see things.

Because remember as we move forward in this discussion, for every Barbie out there, there is a Ken too. And it would indeed be interesting to see the movie, "Ken," come out next. And have it written by a man. And not a man who is just trying be progressive and accepted by women. But a man who truly will give Ken's side of the story too.

So let's begin with the patriarchal thing. A deep and rather complex discussion to be sure.

Is there still a patriarchal mentality going on in this world? Of course. And there will continue to be for some time to come. The world doesn't just do a 180 because some movie called Barbie comes out and relegates men to some sort of inconsequential joke.

Nor did it immediately do a 180 just because women were becoming more vocal about their rights some 50+ years ago (even more when you consider the right to vote).

Just because we're living in a time when it's more acceptable, and cool for women to take jabs at men, doesn't mean change will be enacted overnight. Especially in light of the fact that there are still women out there who aren't "terrified" (to use that poster's word) of men and are perfectly fine letting them take the lead in a relationship, protect them when necessary, and do the things that men have done in relationships since the beginning of time. Remember, patriarchal societies have been around since the beginning of time, and you can't blame men for doing what they ALSO have seen as being expected of them. Many of these expectations coming from women themselves. Whether they'll admit to it or not.

For those who don't subscribe to the latter though, and want to become independent, and change that patriarchal trajectory, there are indeed alternatives. And I say, go for it. We're living in an age when women don't need men. They can be pretty much anything they want to be nowadays. Are there still "ceilings" to be shattered? Yes. But life really isn't that bad.

And what about the Barbie body image thing. For decades we've heard women complain about that impossible image that Barbie dolls have set for women. But the reality is that most men don't expect that in a woman. Not nearly as much as women might pretend or believe they do. That's more of a socialized, media construct that comes as a result of what the Barbie doll, and more generally, Hollywood and print media have set up. In the day to day world though, that's not how it is when it comes to what men expect in women.

Sure, men talk about good-looking women. They ogle women. Sometimes make a catcall or two. But women talk about good-looking men too. And when a good-looking man walks in the room, there is no denying what the women in the room think of him. Hell, I saw Aladdin on Broadway and when he came out without his shirt on, muscles bulging, the women in the audience went nuts. And in the play Take Me Out during the shower scene with a bunch of hot young men naked in the shower scene, the women in the audience weren't exactly suppressing their murmurings and "responses." So come on!

And to expand upon that, I worked at a major amusement park in Anaheim for almost ten years when I was younger. I was witness to thousands of couples. And I can tell you that I actually saw more couples where the man was better looking than the woman than I did where the woman was better looking than the man.

So no, men don't expect perfection.

Actually, from the observations I've made of women it would suggest that they do place a lot of importance on looks and physique when it comes to a man too. They can pretend that they don't, and that it's the men who have these impossible expectations of women, but it doesn't change the facts.

In the movie, we see Barbie's perspective on things. So, this is how Ken sees it in the real world too: women want a man who is good looking, has a great body, has a full head of hair. And oh yeah, if he has a lot of money, even better.

And add to that you have women who have special interests such as a man in uniform;. Or a younger man. I have female friends who will only date a guy in uniform. Etc.

So do women really want to play that "expectations" card?

I wouldn't suggest it. Because they are just as guilty as men. And any body self-image thing that women have is more Hollywood, and yes, Barbie-driven than what is the reality anyway. Because men are way more accepting than women claim them to be. Or I should say, straight men are. Gay men, not so much.

I will even add that men are so accepting of women, that ageism isn't even the issue that women play it up to be. Women complain about men who only want a younger, hotter woman and that women "age out" and are not treated with the same respect. To that I say bull. Let's say my 50 year old female friend and I go out for dinner, and our waiter is some hot younger man. If my friend has a thing for younger men and hits on him, depending on the moment in time, that friend of mine might very well have a date for the night.

I can tell you that as a gay male, that would not happen with that younger man if he was gay. If he played on my team and I made a play for him, there would only be a 5-10% chance I would have a chance at him. Because if you want to know what picky is, ask a gay man. Younger gay men won't hardly give the time of day to an older man.

So straight women benefit from this as well. There is no such thing as becoming too old. There are plenty of younger men who are willing and I'll bet where I'd have a 5-10% with the dude if he played on my team, she'd have an 80-90% chance with him if he was straight. Older gay men will not see the same willingness in younger gay men that straight women do in younger straight men. And even if the younger guy wasn't interested in an older woman, he would treat her with respect. The younger gay man will very likely put the older man down.

But I digress. Even though proven the point that women have nothing to complain about. Trust me.

In closing, are there Ken dolls who only want Barbie? Sure. But that's not the majority.

Do men appreciate a good looking woman with a nice body? Yes.

But women appreciate the same in men too, so time to move on from that discussion. Both men AND women have expectations of the opposite sex.

As to the patriarchal thing? Definitely a deeper and more complex subject.

But still, things have changed a lot for women. I know that patriarchal societies have been around for a long time. They have been the "norm" so to speak. And again, a lot of women are actually still okay with that. They don't mind the man taking the lead in ther relationship, protecting them, etc.

But for those who don't subscribe to that, women can now be the VP of the USA, or the prime minister or president of whole countries. We almost had a female president here in the States. Women can be CEOs, and even directors of movies. Some of the wealthiest people on this earth are women. All kinds of opportunities.

Even the opportunity to get your degree, get a nice job, and find a husband who has a lot of money, is totally hot, wears a uniform, is younger, or whatever. If the latter are your things too.

Women have nothing to complain about. Looks, age, none of it matters as much as you think it does. For women, the Barbie syndrome may exist, but reality would suggest otherwise.

Now boo hoo for me, all of that really DOES matter when you're gay. LOL. Or COL (cry out loud). Whatever the case may be.