Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man

tell you, “The first thing I’m going to do when I get out of here
is take care of my family and get a job—that’s all I want to do.”
Most every man comes to that realization. Some men never
come out of the ignorance and die fools—alone. But for the
most part, when we get around other men and try to validate
our manhood, it’s not about how many women we’ve got, but
who we’re taking care of.
We are trained to be providers for you, and you are trained
to look for that in us. So the moment that order of things is
thrown off, the relationship is out of sync. If a woman also has
the bad habit of throwing a man’s deficiencies in his face, then
he has a problem of a whole different magnitude. He’s going to
struggle with not being the provider and she’s going to feel like
his ego is getting in the way of her happiness. And everyone
involved is bound to get—and be—miserable.
So how do we get through this situation?
Don’t give up your money, or your job, or your education,
or the pride and dignity that come with all of that.
Just be a lady.
Oh, I can hear the collective teeth sucking—it’s as loud as a
police siren and helicopter whir in Compton—I can see the
universal arm folding and eyebrow raising as well. But your
getting hot and bothered by what I’m saying isn’t going to
change the fact that men, no matter what their financial situa-
tion, background, social status, or backstory, want their women
to let them take care of them. And I say to you defiant ones, go