The train stations these days are plastered with posters for Tyler Perry’s upcoming movie Daddy’s Little Girls. What I found interesting were the first two lines of the promo copy:
She needs a good man.
He wants a smart woman.
Now, maybe this is me overthinking things. Wouldn’t be the first time. But look at the verbs there. She needs a good man - so she must be somehow incomplete or deficient without one. But the guy can apparently do without a smart woman - he only wants one. Hey, for all I know, the copywriters just didn’t want to repeat verbs. But unintended meanings are still meanings, and there’s an interesting message here about the different expectations that men and women face - and the different expectations they place on themselves.