Female Supremacy Articles - Page 9

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Well into feminism's second generation, there are finally a significant number of women reaching parity with the men in their fieldsnot to mention surpassing themand winning the salary, bonuses, and perks that signify their arrival. (The Town Cars idling in front of their children's schools these days at morning drop-off are almost as likely to be Mom's as Dad's.) In 2001, for example, wives earned more than their spouses in almost a third of married households where the wife worked. Yet this proud professional achievement often seems to have unhappy consequences at home.

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Alias to Kill Bill, the culture has for some time been awash in fantasies of powerful women. Fetching as these female superheroes may beand however potent at the box office and in the Nielsensare these really the same chicks the average, or even above-average, guy wants to curl up next to in bed in real life? Perhaps not. As the wives grow more powerful and confident, their husbands often seem to diminish in direct proportion to their success.

Indeed, there's little evidence to show that as women acquire financial muscle, relations between the sexes have evolved successfully to accommodate the new balance of power. Neither the newly liberated alpha women nor their shell-shocked beta spouses seem comfortable with the role reversal.