WHAT MEN WANT WOMEN TO KNOW

1. If you think you’re fat, you probably are, so don’t ask.

2. Don’t wear short hair like a man. Men love long hair.

3. Sometimes he’s not thinking about you. Live with it.

4. If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to, expect an answer you don’t want to hear.

5. Anything you wear is fine, really. Even nothing.

6. Crying is blackmail. Use it if you must, but don’t expect a man to like it.

7. A headache doesn’t impair the use of other parts of the body.

8. Don’t fake it. He’d rather be ineffective than deceived. He says.

9. Women who show cleavage have no right to object when a guy looks at their boobs.

10. Never buy a new brand of beer just because it’s on sale.

WE'VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY

In 1986, Newsweek Magazine reported that college-aged women who are still single at the age of 35 have only a 5 percent chance of ever getting married. The stats confirmed what had been suspected: that many women who seemed to have it all--good looks, good jobs, advanced degrees and high salaries were going to miss out on having a good mate. So mother's dire prediction was right: if you wait too long all the good men will be gone.

What was missing from the equation was some very critical information--that there was no man shortage, simply a shortage of men their age or older. But at that time, the study struck fear in the hearts of so many women because the practice of dating younger men was still taboo, not even talked about. Now, in 2008, it's laughable that a woman would decline a date with a man because he's younger. Today, his age wouldn't even enter her mind unless the age gap was really huge.

Today's woman has proven she's willing to battle for new options. Here is a list of her options--all of them forcing society to change. These changes have been won by women as a result of the women's movement that began in the late 1960's:
--the opportunity to be an independent, self reliant woman who can support herself, no longer seeking personal identity and expression through a man.
--the opportunity to enter professions and occupations once open to "men only," such as medicine, law, business, engineering, and politics.
--the opportunity to have a lover, to live openly with a man and not have to sneak around to do it.
--the opportunity to marry and have a family, raising children that turn out beautifully despite the presence of both parents working.

One glass ceiling that still needs to be broken is meeting real gender bias, having a woman elected to be President of the United States. I just have to believe that ceiling is about to be broken. Hopefully, we will soon be able to applaud the swearing in of President Hillary Clinton.

FEELING REJECTED? FIND SOMEONE NEW

No one likes getting dumped, but it happens to most people at some point in their lives. The question is: How do you recover from the rejection? Some people will withdraw after a painful breakup and become very self-protective, wary of another hurt. Understandable--the loss of love is devastating. That's fine for a time, but not if it keeps you from putting yourself out there and trying again. Even if you feel you could never love like that another time, you need to try. It's nonsense to think that there's just one perfect person for you. Maybe there's just one perfect person in your circle of the people you know. But think of all the people you don't know, and any one of them might be even more suitable than the one who disappointed you. You need to circulate, put yourself in situations where you'll meet lots of new people. I remind you of the vast array of people you can meet through online dating sites. You can love again. Being able to love requires trusting your emotions. Imagine love to be possible for you, that is if you're willing to be vulnerable again. People recover all the time. Wounds heal. And the best medicine for a damaged heart is to open yourself up to a new and special person. He or she is out there.

THE INTERNET IS A PARADOX WHEN IT COMES TO ROMANCE

• We can reach out to literally millions of people while being completely alone.
• The Internet can create a powerful feeling of closeness to someone whom we have never met or seen.
• On the Internet it’s easier to be honest, and, at the same time, to be more deceitful. It’s less embarrassing to speak the truth when the person may be someone you’ll never see face to face. And for that same reason, it’s easy to lie.
• The Internet allows a meeting without ever leaving home.
• On the Internet we connect only with our thoughts and emotions, but not with our bodies.
• Because of the distance, we have a sense of safety, but we don’t really know the intentions of the other person.
• On the Internet, we feel that we have the complete attention of the other person, and yet he or she can be involved in many other activities of which we’re not aware

FLIRTING IS SEXY AND FUN AND NECESSARY

Why are some people so good at flirting? It's second nature to them. They aren't even aware they're doing it much of the time. It's body language, gesture, stance, eye contact. They tilt their heads, toss their hair, give small smiles with a sideways glance. The tilted head on a woman allows her to show her sensuous, smooth neck. The sideways glance is often followed by a glance away or downward, a coy smile. Men do it too... a come hither look, maybe eyebrows raised. You're telling that you're available, ready for physical engagement. In primal terms, you're saying that you want to be in the embrace of the other person, and these are the signals before the verbal stage. And here's the real kicker: Evolutionary biologists say that those who are adept at flirting are much more likely to find a mate than those who don't flirt. Flirting is part of the universal ritual of romance. It comes natural to some, but it can be learned behavior. If you go to a gathering of singles, you will soon spot the master flirts. Watch and learn. You can be one of them.