THE millennial woman has been described as motivated, educated, self-starting and can tend to be more aggressive and impatient than her baby-booming mother.
Her idea of success is holistic and does not only regard financial success, but all elements of life such as image, family, love, health, career and education.
Millennial is the term given to persons born between 1982 and 1994. This is the generation of “I want it all and I want it now!”
I have always been very appreciative of the platonic friendships I have with males. They are refreshing, insightful and allow me to see the other side of the coin in various circumstances. One such situation is the role of the millennial woman in society and the expectations men have of her.
Most men claim to prefer a woman who is “independent”. There are others who are adamant that they will not spend a blind cent on women. It can be noted, however, that once the latter becomes involved with a woman who is deemed to be “independent”, they are more inclined to spoil her with gifts and to see her as a viable “catch”.
Women who are financially independent, who can juggle careers with homemaking and who obviously are bringing something tangible to the table of partnership, are in high demand. Gone are the days when men are more accepting of women not having careers and being solely dependent on them for support.
The point must be made, however, that being stay-at-home moms or housewives are legitimate careers and this writer is not referring to these career paths in my previous sentiment. The encouragement of sugar daddies, whilst still in existence, does not correlate with the current trends of modern day relationship goals.
Cook, clean and cuddle
I have also spoken to men who still insist on the career woman maintaining certain traditional roles in the relationship. At a recent lime, most men expressed the desire for their ideal women to be comfortable or willing to share regular chores that include washing, cooking, and general household management. The woman who can remain physically attractive, while balancing career, home management, child care and adequately maintain healthy and exciting bedroom affairs, is in great demand. As idealistic as it may seem, many men want the millennial woman to be independent, proficient at cooking, competent at housework, a great conversationalist, innovative and talented at cuddling and still rival Rihanna in an Instagram picture.
In this day of Instagram and the popular hashtag #wcw (Woman Crush Wednesday), the pressures to look good at all times are more prevalent than ever.
Is this concept of women as a “trophy” an objectification? I have decided to give my male peers the benefit of the doubt and assume that it is not.
It has been deemed that men’s egos are more fragile than we might often consider. The millennial woman may be more outspoken and opinionated, impatient and demanding. Her modus operandi is “here and now”. She calls it as she sees it.
It has been suggested that perhaps she makes it a priority to learn to communicate effectively with the opposite sex. We assume so often that men must understand us or how we think, when in reality we are very complex beings. We will say what we want think and feel. We must also learn to choose the most appropriate method of so saying to suit the time and circumstance. That said, I am happy to be a millennial woman and proud of the bold steps that women have taken in recent times.
With respect to men and their expectations, we are ready for the challenge and imagine that when we state our expectations of them that they, too, are ready and willing to rise to the challenge.
Toni Thorne is a young entrepreneur and World Economic Forum Global Shaper who loves global youth culture, a great debate and living in paradise. Email Tonithorne@hotmail.com
