We must have some sort of disagreement, because I absolutely believe a woman should never look for financial security in a man. We are as a group unreliable. In fact, it would be best not to have excessive dependence on anyone, given how fraught human relationships can be.

I'm all for re-engineering society. But in the era in which I grew up, a woman really was SOL if she couldn't “catch” a man. In fact, one of the arguments against gender equality — and people would say it out loud, so no conspiracy theory needed — was that women would be more likely to divorce if they could reasonably survive on their own.

Inequality was a key component in "protecting the family.”

As for women using men for money, it definitely happens. On the other hand, men regularly use women for sex, then bail out on them when they lose their youth. The successful guy with an ex-wife his own age and the new young wife is just a regular feature of society.

As for "sex as a weapon," it's a very common phrase, but you're correct it carries the stench of violence, and should be retired. My apologies.

Using sex to manipulate men, however, has always just been an accepted fact of life. Pretty much the norm, really. Perhaps that's gone away, though I doubt it. I saw a TV commercial last night implying that a man who does his share of the housework will be more attractive to his wife.

In an unequal world, people reach for whatever tool they can find, and quite reasonably so.

Of course, transactional sex is unhealthy for all concerned — though I suspect the manosphere would rather keep it alive. Keeping women dependent and trading sex for favors is one of those “traditional values” we’d be better off without.