Cities are unnatural environments, and one of the clearest signs of this is how they destroy the natural polarity between men and women.

In the city, men and women do the same things. They work the same kinds of jobs, live in identical apartments, wear similar clothing. The differences between a city man and a city woman are often minimal. And this blurring creates tension. The city woman asks, “Why do I need a man if I can do everything he does?”

Now, of course, there is an army of blue-collar men keeping the city running, doing the kind of hard physical labor that almost no woman could or would do. But these men are invisible to most people until something breaks. Only then does anyone notice them.

Step out of the city, though, and everything shifts.

In the countryside, men and women have different but overlapping spheres. Some jobs are clearly for men. Some are clearly for women. Some could be shared. But the distinction is visible and felt.

When a woman watches her husband doing hard physical labor on the land, she feels the truth: she needs him. Not just emotionally, but materially, physically. There are things she cannot do on her own. Without him, she would be in trouble. And that need breeds gratitude, respect, and love.

When a man sees his wife tending to children, cooking, or doing the kind of slow, quiet work he finds tedious, he feels the same: she is doing what he cannot or will not. And his appreciation for her grows.

This mutual need, this visible service to one another, builds a stronger bond.

It is no surprise, then, that couples who live in rural areas have lower divorce rates and more children. Not just farmers, but anyone who lives outside the urban sprawl.

The more natural the environment, the more natural, and lasting, the love.