Of course this is not a universal truth, but in the following i will show why i think it’s pretty fair to say that this trend generally exists.

The most obvious example for this is bisexuality. Most men don’t have any problem with dating bisexual women. And bisexual women have probably a less submissive approach to sex than straight women on average. This get’s to the point where being bi for a woman is even seen as a bonus by some men. Bi men on the other hand have a clear dating disadvantage compared to straight men. At least if they are honest about their sexual orientation. Many women state that they don’t wanna date bi men. The most often quoted reasoning is because bi men would have so many options and therefore dating them would be such a struggle. Ok, so you also don’t wanna date attractive people as well? Like what? Of course comments like “i just don’t want a men who sucks dick” get many upvotes, but most women don’t wanna say it themselves.

Another good example are financial dating preferences. Most men just accepted they won’t even be able to financially provide for a family alone. And tbf most women don’t expect em to, but women do emphasise financial prospects stronger in their dating choices on average. And i am not blaming women for that morally. I think it’s fair to point out tho in the context of what gender norms women reinforce.

Another interesting example is ambition. “Ambition” is very often framed as a requirement for men. Men are expected to be driven, upward-moving, and status-oriented. You rarely see the same expectation stated in an analogous way for women. People might say “everyone should be ambitious,” but it’s not commonly framed as “women especially should be ambitious” the way it is for men. At least not in the context of dating preferences.