how to deal with the power struggle in relationships

A dirty little secret is being kept by many clever, independent women: in relationships, they'd prefer not to wear the pants. In fact, they long for their guys to kick it old-school by, say, opening the car door, picking up the dinner bill (at least in the early days of dating), and eventually, asking Dad's permission for their hand in marriage.

If you're cringing right now, you're not alone. Even the women who crave these ultra-traditional displays feel a little squeamish about it. "Women work hard to be respected and taken seriously in so many areas of their lives, and some may feel as if they're betraying their 'strong female' identity by adopting old-fashioned romantic conventions in which the man is, in some ways, playing a dominant role," says Tara Emmers-Sommer, a professor of communication studies at the University of Nevada.

So how does a modern woman reconcile these two disparate sides of herself? Read on...