This question seems to be asked again and again, and each time you get a different answer, depending on which generation you're addressing—Gen X, Millennials, or Gen Z. Every generation has its own idea of what makes a man, or even a future partner. Sometimes strong and self-confident, sometimes family-oriented, self-reflective, or progressive... and what do we men do? We desperately try to navigate through all the clichés and ideas to find the path that will lead us to the one with whom we have something lasting in mind.

With some men, you get the impression that they're not up to it or are simply lost. Perhaps it's simply because, as GenX, you don't share the values of GenZ or you'd have to bend too much for a partner, and then it doesn't meet your desired expectations.

So I'm asking myself, is it really necessary for me, as a man, to meet all the requirements to be attractive to a broad base of potential partners? I don't think so, because trying to fit everything in makes me somehow replaceable and transparent. Why does every corner a person has have to be smoothed out just so we come across better? Aren't these very corners what define a man? I'm not talking about irreconcilable differences here, but rather about the ideas often held by the opposite sex for the supposedly ideal partner.
Please, dear women, we men are simpler and if you send us through this minefield of various unknowns, then we can only fail and we obviously don't want that if we registered here.