‘What women really want in a man,’ from a woman’s perspective

In the 1970’s, famous feminist Gloria Steinem said: “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” The message: Women are self-reliant, and men are superfluous. Men are unnecessary and incompatible with women. Her cynical view was, no doubt, colored by her father’s abandonment. At our core, human beings are relational. Attachment to others is a basic human need. Our first attachment is to our parents. From our mothers we absorb what it means to be a woman. From our fathers, we learn how women ought to be treated by men. These kinds of lessons cannot come from...