The whole “helpmate” idea has been a foreign concept as long as I can remember.

I know hardly any women who think that way, at least from my generation (“GenX”) on down. Many women are not even conscious that they are doing everything possible to prevent themselves from getting where they want to be. They seem to be innocently clueless and honestly confounded as to why they end up with nothing.

One woman acquaintance, who has thrown herself into career with passion and mania, but is not obnoxious or grrrrrl-powery at all, but rather soft-spoken and nice, claimed not long ago that she was “thinking” about starting a family. Thinking about it. In her early 40s. She’s gorgeous and possibly thinks that’s all that’s needed. She told me this more than a year ago; she is still without family, and even a boyfriend. I can’t see this ending well. Waiting for all of them to learn on their own is likely not the ticket either.