Nearly all the decisions which will affect us most profoundly are made during our most fertile years, a time when young men are both driven and blinded by testosterone. What is the relevant power dynamic when you're around 17-25 years old, and probably the most important driving force is to get laid? Who is the more powerful party in the relationship, the gatekeeper of sex? Where did 'the Patriarchy' disappear to?

Young men are the pawns on life's chessboard, with a limited range of moves. Even when we wise up, and become kings, we find that we've somehow become fettered with kids and mortgages, and can only move one square at a time.

Now, the queen - she knows all the moves.... from the value of property (castle), to the strategy of the church (bishop), and the knights who will defend her. She's always the most powerful player. The king lumbers on, believing that he's in control...