Last week, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote a nice little piece addressing the issue of men’s marriage preferences for subservient women.

She cited a University of Michigan study that suggests men prefer women who are subordinates rather than supervisors for long-term relationships. She also cited a study conducted by four British universities that found a high IQ reduces a woman’s chance for getting married.

These two little observations beg the question: If a woman wants a long-term relationship and finds herself in this predicament, should she dumb herself down or continue being a proud, intelligent woman? I know such a question wrongfully puts all the pressure on women to change and not on men, but I ask it anyway for argument’s sake.

I would prefer the latter. An excellent illustration of this is in David Auburn’s play “Proof,” in which the smart, young and college-educated Catherine refuses to sacrifice her intellect for a relationship with Hal.

And like Hal, men will have to get used to it and get over it. According to the U.S. Department of Education, by the year 2008, there will be 3 million more women in college than men. This is very good news. I doubt women are going to get their MRS. degrees.

Are men afraid of women because they fear being outwitted as the dumb beasts that many of them tend to be?

And as more and more women beat men in the arenas of intellectual competition, will men seek other outlets as a means of subordinating women?

Will sex be further portrayed in our culture as an act of women slaving for men?

The woman, it seems, is the one forced to submit to the act of sex – a corruption of sex that is merely to satiate a carnal ape hunger in the man rather than an act of mutual celebration.

Sickeningly, we are told corrupted sex is the only sex. We are told an elevated experience between partners is not possible, so why try. Might as well treat bitches as hoes. Dance little girl, dance.

And this corrupted sex and subjugation of meaningful sex can be linked to a societal need to turn everything into an act of consumerism.

Just as we have fast-food burgers, we too can have fast-food sex. Empty, meaningless and harmful. Quick and easy, and unfulfilling. The man says, “I want sex, and I want it now,” just as easily as he says, “I want pizza, and I want it now.”

This cut from Lil Jon’s hit song “Friends and Lovers” sums up many of the sentiments in today’s media:

“Be a good girl now, turn around, and get these whippings,

You know you like it like that,

You don’t have to fight back,

Here’s a pillow – bite … that,”

In other words, shut up woman and get penetrated.

Here’s a sampling from Nitty’s “Nasty Girl,” a song which makes poor attempts at humor:

“Well honey,

I got a lot of money.

Could you be my nasty girl.

And let me do that dirty dance witchu”

And here, the woman is reduced to commodity. Commodity of carnal knowledge, bought and sold.

Women are cattle and are willing to dumb themselves down for the chance of being prodded and maybe branded with a wedding ring.

Hopefully, it will be men who will be forced to change, and their fantasies of dominating women will become like the Neanderthals – extinct.

If men want dumb cattle for wives, I think there might be a few states where that is still legal.

Karl Noyes is the Senior Editorial Board Member. He welcomes comments at [email protected].