Men tend to have more upper body strengh, women are better suited to being ultimate soldiers.  Both genders perform comparably when similarly trained.

What about in the relationship realm?  Men complain about women being manipulative to gain the upper hand, women complain about men playing mind games to try to stay on top.  Who reigns supreme in the relationship arena?  Which gender really has the upper hand?  Why?

Discuss!

I think women reign supreme when it comes to mind games. We dont tell a guy what we really want, we let them think the way they want to think. Women are very manipultive. We will talk someone into buying us something when it is already bought. We will con them into taking us somewhere when we already have the tickets and we will take our time to sleep with them when we know they had us at the first HELLO.
Men on the other hand play other kind of games. They are good at getting us sprung or attached and then when a woman want to discuss feelings, he kind of back up in a corner as if we are trapping him. He may very well have the same feelings but hes not going to let them be known until further investigation. Men are thinkers and this is where they have the upper hand. They have a blue book of plays and rules. So they think and ponder about everything the relationship will bring, will it make him a better man and if so how, can I see her raising my children, will my mama like her. Women dont go through a through checklist like men but we should.

Good question JAT. On the real Loveless just broke it down completely and thoroughly. I do think men and women have the upper hand in certain phases of the relationship. Loveless said it all with her answer.

Who reigns supreme in the relationship arena?  I can't say anyone "reigns" in anything.  Hell, brothas are knocking up sistas who they don't know anything about.  Brothas are having too many kids who don't know much about them and can't instill nothing good in them.  Too many sistas are pissed off because their no good BF or their "hook-up" went bad. 

We have too many dumb and bad ass kids causing too much grief in school and as young adults to say that anybody got sh.t over the other.

We got too many f.ck ups to say anybody reigns over anything.

Which gender really has the upper hand?  It depends on who is doing the most griping and whining.  Why?  The "hit" dog is doing the most hollering...lol.

In skimming the surface of BM/BW relationships, Loveless hit it on the money.  Men will learn to work their "angle" with the sistas.  Brothas are master of "presentations", and many take full advantage of sistas attraction to superficial qualities of must haves.  My angle, was that women felt that I'm such a "nice", sincere and solid type of guy without an once of game in me; they find me appealing but a bit "aloof" in demeanor.  I say I'm a nice guy with a "twist"...lol. I was told while in college that you have to be very patient in getting them to let their guards down, then you have to "hook" the emotion pretty hard... then you got them.  Love them good, treat them good and just ride it on out, but don't knock them up or catch anything you can't get rid of...lol.

Women will reign supreme during the initual dating and getting to know you stage, but many men loose all serious interest with hooking up with sistas while she try to BS him, but many brothas will seamlessly change emotional "gears" and continue to pursue the sista like vultures waiting for the sheep to take its last breath.  When she lets her guards down after a period of time trying to size the brotha up... BAM!!!, you hit it and hit it good. Once she start catching feeling, you put it on "cruise" control, recline back and take it easy for a few years and enjoy the relationship until she either kicks you to the curb or you get tire of her and bounce.

Its all game...

Let Lovers Beware

@Wood wow I'm impressed that you agree with me. I also think that you hit the nail on the head.

JAT:  I would say that we are equally strong, but as your examples point out...in different ways.  The areas of strength can be just as unique as the individuals themselves.

For example:  In some relationships, it is the man who has the most financial discipline...in others its the woman.  In some relationships, it is the woman who is able to operate most efficiently in a crisis situation...in others its the man.  Ya feel me? 

So I think its hard to say..who's stronger.  While there is no question that a man (most anyway) possesses more physical strength than a woman, that is really the only area (in a relationship) where one is (consistently) the "stronger sex."  Just my 2.5

Some very good answers.  Dashon, you always drop knowledge.  Wood, if you didn't mention stringing a woman along, I'd faint from shock, lol!  But hey, that's real stuff, so I'm not mad at you.

@JAT

I agree with Dashon. Too broad of a question because different people bring different strengths to different situations within a relationship. The only problem is that we don't take the time to assess those quaities and some brothers are too caught up with being "labled" that man of household but their actions says otherwise.

@JAT:  Thanks!