Gender bender: Men want kids, women independence

Reflecting the effects of massive social changes on gender relations, a new study has found that men today want babies and commitment, while women are more likely to want independence in their relationships.

The study of over 5,000 American adults found that more than half of single men want to have children compared to just 46% of women. The results revealed the effects of the growing gender role reversal, said Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University and a chief scientific adviser at dating website Match.com, which commissioned the study.

"We've seen since the beginning of the industrial revolution that men and women have growing economic equality," Fisher told LiveScience. "But now we're starting to see much more of how men are interested in attachment and commitment and how interested women are in preserving some of their independence."

The Internet-based survey, conducted by a team from Rutgers University in New Jersey and Binghamton University in New York busted a number of gender stereotypes. Among single people 24% of men say they want kids, compared with 15% of women.

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