The British press has some interesting columns today–the quasi-traditionalism of twentysomethings and the same feminist blather about being too accomplished to find a husband, err partner.

Kate Mulvey at the Times complains that she has to hide her glittering skills on dates because she intimidates men:

The widespread view is that accomplished women are at a disadvantage in the marriage market because men start out by saying they want a strong, powerful woman and then end up running off with the secretary. I should know. A few years ago my Swiss banker found my conversation too arty and cast his attentions on a lovely Spanish girl who worked in his office.

It’s the same battle of the sexes whining that you hear all the time. If the column was a bit more atagonistic, Maureen Dowd could have written it. Mulvey reveals something interesting in the last paragraph.

Having grown up with successful women such as Margaret Thatcher and Madonna as role models, and with popular culture awash with fantasies of all-powerful women, from Lara Croft to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, men are not so uncomfortable with the woman in control. This value system recognises the trend of female supremacy, which while not as yet the norm seems to be pointing the way for future relationships.

The trend of female supremacy? I thought feminists just wanted equality with men. At least that’s the official talking point.

The Telegraph contrasts nicely with an article on the trend of people settling down in their twenties, buying homes and starting families before 30.

William Strauss, a generation historian who has written three books about this age group, has a theory. He blames the parents. ‘These are the kids of the baby boomers, who were all about individualism. Children tend to correct the mistakes of their parents – youth culture is defined by adults in that way – and so what we are seeing now is a product of them being uncomfortable with how important self-exploration has become. There’s a sense of needing to find a balance between community and the individual, the latter being too strong and the former being too weak. There’s a push towards having more decorum. There’s every sign that this generation has more of a civic instinct. I think they will create new mores, because they feel that their parents’ obsession with individualism has vanquished them.’

This is true. Generational studies show that young Xers and older Millenials (those born after 1977) spend more time than any other generation volunteering. We’re also taking up traditional habits like knitting and gardening and try to balance careers with personal lives.

I couldn’t agree more with this paragraph:

The parents are not solely responsible; the Bridget Jones generation plays some part in the formation of the New Victorians. Put simply, the cult of the singleton has terrified twentysomethings. ‘The women just before us were so career-orientated and wanted it all, but did they get it?’ Kate Ballinger is sitting on the vintage leather sofa she bought on eBay (she now gets more excited by the prospect of buying furniture for her home than she does clothes) and musing about the seemingly never-ending reports of infertility and IVF. ‘You read so many stories about being single and not having babies, I suppose there is an element of wanting to get your skates on. I want to do well but I don’t want to put off the experience of children. I want to create a balance.’ Sharland agrees. ‘Oh God, the number of mothers in their late thirties who tell me they wish they’d done it when they were my age.’

We watched Sex and the City and read Bridget Jones in college. Then we read columns like the one from the Times, and people wonder why twentysomethings want more to life than a high-powered career? Those women apparently “have it all” and don’t seem very happy about it now.