Any man who says this to a feminist would probably be called a “Male Chauvinist Pig”, MCP for short. The days when men led and women followed are gone.
Long ago. the men were the ones who had the physical ability to provide food and shelter for his charges, which included women and children. Men were made to do the job of hunting, plowing, and other activities that required physical strength and skill. Women do not have the necessary physical attributes. They were made to have children and keep a home.
Nowadays things are very different. In most parts of the world now; there is no need for anyone to go hunting for food or do demanding physical work. In fact, hunting has largely vanished. In its place are large farms of domesticated animals that provide all the necessary food. To work the farms, there are machines that can do the work better than any man or men. So Ian’s physical strength is hardly necessary for survival now.
The main concern for men and women of this age is how to survive in this increasingly complex world. This requires knowledge, not physical strength. And as far as knowledge is concerned, men and women have about the same ability.
We have women who are doctors, engineers, teachers, drivers, lecturers, prime ministers, and other professionals. They are in no way inferior to men and in some ways better although no man would like to admit this. Thus women can survive equally well in this world as men.
To ask a woman professional to submit to a man who does not even have half her ability would be foolish and immature. Only a male chauvinist would do this, and there are plenty around, especially the religious ones who still cling on to religious precepts although these precepts have far outlived their usefulness. It is the egoistic male who insists he leads when clearly he is incapable of doing so.
For the most part of man’s history, men have been the leaders. If we are mature enough to look at the facts of our world, we have to admit it is these men who have made a mess of it. The men had had thousands of years of practice in running the world and they have failed miserably. They are still trying without much success. They led, and the rest suffered. This is not to say that women can do better. Perhaps if men and women had shared the reins of leadership, the world would not be in this awful mess.
It would be for the better if the human race in general discards this prejudice of women being inferior to men. Men and women are made to complement each other, not for one to subjugate the other. One cannot exist without the other, so it is only logical that they share the responsibilities of living together. It is not a matter of who leads who. It is a matter of walking side-by-side together.