Last week's article about educated women being manless created quite a stir. Some men responded that educated women emasculate men. Women maintained that men are just intimidated by educated women. This week, Flair sought a professional view on the topic.

Like the women who were featured in last week's article, many educated women cannot seem to find a man. They claim that men these days are just not up to par and are intimidated by a strong, level-headed, educated woman.

No shame

Clinical psychiatrist Dr Asquith Reid explains that he does not think educated women intimidate Jamaican men because our men have no shame when it comes to pursuing a woman. "No matter how much she cows him down, he will still pursue her if he is interested," he said.

He added that perhaps the problems lie in the different cultural perspectives, as educated women think differently from uneducated men. He notes that educated women must realise that education does not make a man; his mannerism, attitude and demeanour are also important factors. Also, most Jamaican uneducated men are amiable and able to please an educated woman and would make good husbands/partners.

On the contrary, some educated women have the attitude that they are better than less-educated men. "It is not about the education but about the happiness a man will bring to their lives."

Dwayne Lawrence writes:

Your article accurately reflects the way many educated Jamaican women feel and what many are going through as some of my female friends have the same complaints.

For years, women have been fighting for equal rights and now that they have reached this goal and are moving up the corporate ladder, they realise the higher they go, the fewer men they will see or will see them.

Many women fail to understand men; we love to feel wanted by our women, not just financially but also emotionally and sexually, and this does not mean making yourself a slave to us. Women, in many cases, like the finished product and don't care much about the process so they will be more attracted to a man who has already made it as opposed to one who is in the process.

A young man who has just left college and is riding the bus because he is paying his students' loan and taking care of his mother is not exactly prime real estate in the eyes of modern educated women. Men are not afraid of educated women, we are just turned off by women who are not willing to help us in the process of achieving self-actualisation.

Women should not settle for less than they think they deserve. Men shouldn't either. The difference is the odds are in our favour. The woman who can understand the inner workings of men, can snag the man of her dreams and this does not require a master's degree. Many women with master's degrees are still manless. Relationships are like a three-legged race where communication and coordination will increase the chances of winning. If you want to prove who is the best, try the 100-metre which you might win but you will be crossing the finish line by yourself with no one to share your victory.

Reid notes that if women see education as the only attribute to make a man compatible with them, then that is where the emasculation begins. He adds, "Control is always an issue in a relationship and I don't see how either men or women could see this as an acceptable approach, 'love needs no control'."