By: Olu Burrell

There is equally as much to shout as there is to whisper about an independent woman. She balances her checkbook, is well-educated, has strong values, is gainfully employed, is ambitious, drop-dead gorgeous, and even borrows from the newly-coined surname of the artist-formerly-known-as Beyonce: Fierce. She is to be heralded, applauded, and encouraged by all those who look upon her: those who are cloaked with envy and those who are clothed in awe. Men love women like this; but there is a tentative spirit in some of the admiration.
This isn’t a treatise about the fragility of the male ego. These words have much less to do with how a man can check his ego in dealing with his equal, and much more to do with the embrace of the feminine. In today’s day and age we are finding a disparaging gap between men and women who have attained success and stability in their respective professional lives. More women are assuming the role of breadwinner and head of household as the “single-mother” phenomenon continues to expand its borders. With the pressures of life: favoritism and sexism in the workplace, women are challenged to ascend to higher levels in order to attain equity. The concern that a lot of men share but oftentimes are remiss to actually disclose is the apprehension felt when encountering such a woman.
While she is adept in every situation that she has previously encountered, men want to know if the woman can be as vulnerable as she is strong. A good man is not looking for a chink in her armor, but simply wants to grasp at the clasp that holds it firmly in place. He wants her to be unobstructed by the prevalent belief that she can “do bad all by herself” and would instead like to counter with: “But who says you have to?” While gender roles have evolved over time, no doubt, there are still men who look for puddles to drape their coats over and allow the woman to walk unsullied…but only if she allows him to do so.

Forwomenonline.com