I appreciate some of the above comments where some of you contend that women are more accepting of men who are on the sophisticated and emotionally-in-tune-with-themselves side. When you find such a woman, point her out to the single men on this board.
I'm not necessarily blaming women - their taste in men is just as culturally cultivated as anyone else's. The culture is the real culprit. I just find such a thing to be wishful thinking, or a case of some women pretending to be more open-minded than they actually are in order to ease their guilt - "I don't mind a sensitive guy," "I don't need a guy who's tall," etc. It just doesn't happen like that. Say one thing, do another. I even read a piece of feminist writing on the Internet, of questionable note, of course, that basically said that the smart modern woman should marry the nerd and have an affair with the football player. I think that's very telling.
For me, though, it might have something to do with the fact that the majority of women I meet are on a college campus that has left me so jaded. :) Maybe things change a little as the years march on and women are more accepting of different kinds of men? In high school, though, I thought this rise in maturity would occur in college. I could not have been more incorrect.
One thing I'd like to say, though, and I'm not sure how far I'm straying from topic but I do apologize if it's a great deal: I have a major problem with how gay men are portrayed in the instances of mainstream culture I've witnessed. Not only do I think it's unfair to gay men, but I think it speaks to an overall negative hostility toward men in general.
I would cite "Sex and the City" as a prime example of it. I know it's supposed to be fluffy female-targeted television. Nonetheless, the message rings clear - straight men are this way, gay men are that way. There is no in-between without some major, judgmental flinch of the eye. And I find that because of this, in order to accomplish some strange, unfounded goal, there is total one-dimensionality foisted upon both kinds of men, and this continues beyond this television show. Gay men are demeaned (I remember one episode where Carrie says of her one gay pal, 'Yeah, so I called him up, I knew *he'd* be free tonight' - what the hell?) and good straight men are given room to be some combination of three things and three things only - perfect-looking, strong and silent.
So, to conclude for now, I think it is no surprise that straight men shy away from things like theatre. The judgment is indeed huge. I think a tremendous proportion of my generation of women has been taught what to think of men through "Sex and the City," "Will and Grace" and the like, and I think the messages are very poor ones.
Just because the overall mindset of male and female relationships has changed in the past 50 years does not mean we have evolved or grown in acceptance of one another. I think the culture has caused things to mutate. We have become so superficial, and in more ways than one. We only scratch the surface. Often, it's all we care to scratch.
George Carlin: "...just like the fitness craze now. America has lost its soul, so now it's going to save its body! Doesn't work that way, folks." :)
2010
Feb. 28 - Looped, Feb. 28 - Next to Normal, March 4 - Hair, March 11 - A Little Night Music, March 24 - Time Stands Still, April 6 - La Cage Aux Folles, April 10 - Anyone Can Whistle (City Center), April 10 - Looped, May 9 - Enron, May 15 - A Little Night Music, May 15 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Behanding In Spokane, May 30 - A Little Night Music, June 20 - A Little Night Music, June 23 - Red, June 23 - Sondheim on Sondheim, July 13 - A Little Night Music, July 18 - The Grand Manner (Lincoln Center)