Since your first high school date, guidance has been spewed incessantly about responding to the opposite sex. Who knew dating life would spawn into a dragnet of advice? Steve Harvey’s book-turned-movie, ‘Think Like A Man’ starring Gabrielle Union and others is bringing out strong commentary about the accuracy of Harvey’s counsel provoking further proposed remedies to this dating thing.
The recommendation that a woman should “think like a man” makes no sense at all. Why should a woman be required to respond in a manner that isn’t in accordance to her natural self? This screams a breeding ground for game playing. Why can’t a woman think like a mature woman while pacing herself transparently throughout the process? Additionally, when should she think like a woman?
While I think it would be foolish not to gain an understanding of the man in pursuit, it’s beyond understanding why thinking like him would render home run results. Understanding him and thinking like him are completely different things.
Can’t help but be a bit offended by Steve’s advice. Are women a bunch of docile, inadequate, non-discerning waste of a species when it comes to the thinking process? Can women (as a whole) fine-tune their logic, take better ownership of choices, and self-reflect on previous decisions to avoid repeat preferences? Yes, definitely, but this quest doesn’t involve avoiding the principles of womanhood which undoubtedly calls for our own thinking process.
“The bottom line is that “thinking like a man” has been, unfortunately, a way to fight fire with fire in the on-going battle of the sexes taking place in the black community. Thinking like a man may help you win the war, but love does not emerge out of war. So, for anyone who wishes to build lasting, meaningful relationships with the opposite sex, you may want to consider reading books by trained relationship experts who can help you to overcome your own issues, identify the issues in others and build relationships that last,” according to Dr. Boyce Watkins, a Syracuse University professor.
I find it hilarious all the advice women are given when it comes to relationship woes when two people, both men and women, should be working towards a common goal—getting together, stay together. We must understand when celebrities make such bold, insidious claims; the framework is usually for shock value and money, as in Steve’s case, not necessarily the value of whole relationships.
I think there is a dire need to better the dynamics between men and women. This process starts with a genuine conversation between the two and moving away from the negative stereotypes regarding the opposite gender.
By Deidre White
