The Perfect Match: Male Expectations

 It is no doubt that women face unrealistic expectations within our society. I have been taught to look like the girl next door, pack a lunch like June Cleaver, be like Marilyn Monroe in bed, but conduct myself like Jackie O when I am “taken out” or “presented to family”. This is troublesome; however men experience something similar, especially by magazines geared towards women.

            Ever since I was 14 I was fed magazines telling me about the “type of guy” I wanted and who would be my “perfect match”. Society would tell me I wanted a guy that was mysterious and knew how to play the “game” but that I also needed a guy that picked up the check and opened doors for me. I was taught that this guy had to be the elusive and sexy bad boy, but be able to pull off a Ralph Lauren Polo sweater set and talk business in front of mom and dad. It was at a young age that I realized I wasn’t the only one being scrutinized for compatibility and hopes for procreation.

            It has come to no surprise that we live in a bilateral world, but women are not the only people in the “this or that” category. Once it became time to date I would worry about the guys I would date to show off to my friends and family. The people in my life, like most loved ones, had unrealistic expectations about the guy I would bring home. This guy had to be taller than me, at the same level of intellect as me, be “manly” enough to defend me from all of downtown Orlando but sensitive enough to watch the Notebook and cry with me, and not to mention be able to keep up with my Irish family. This was a lot of pressure to put on any potential date I may have, not to mention that this was a lot of pressure to put on me.

            The unrealistic expectations put on young men and women cause a lot of confusion, and more importantly a lot of heart break. We are spoon fed what we are supposed to find “attractive” and “sexy”. As women we are supposed to want the Channing Tatum looking firefighter, when in reality a lot of us would be happy with Jim from The Office. Society has us confused with the definition of both masculinity and femininity that both parties are unsatisfied. If we take a step back from what society wants and date people outside of Cosmo, we may actually find what we really want, and that is our “perfect match”.