@Melissa as gently as I can, and whilst acknowledging the poor behavior of some men, can I say that the reverse can be true to at least some extent? My 'alpha' ex is hopefully asleep upstairs now. Whilst she is, I think I would say, I am not nearly as ruthless as she is. For anyone who thinks 'ruthless' is a good quality I think they might remember it's definition;
"having or showing no pity or compassion for others, eg a ruthless manipulator".
My brother who got married young, told me something about women many years ago. "They are smarter than men. They can't do as many things with brute force the way men do, so they begin to think about things differently from a young age. They talk to each other and understand more about their emotions than men, and they often help each other". My ex cheated on me, stole money from me, and tried to make me believe I was "imagining it all, and needed to see a doctor". I wasn't, she had, and I had got it right. After she left me, and her boyfriend didn't leave his wife, she was happy to return here, and ask for my help.
We have two sons (they are older 19 and 22) that we are responsible for, so I helped her get herself together again. Her behavior has been something she would happily condemn any man for, and laugh at them. She is blissfully unaware of her own 'male' behavior. Life is not quite as clear cut as it might seem is my view. Whatever advantage men or women perceive themselves to have, eventually we get older, our looks fade, and we reflect on our own and others behaviors. To me it's really about the person rather than the gender.
That's just my view, but I think it's the truth. Men will never have any real advantage until they learn from the giant panda... just ask
@Milktoast Bandit .... lol.