Female "Independence" and Dating

I can only think of one reason and one reason only why any woman would continously brag about being independent and hold it up like it's some kind of badge of honor when she's dating. Two words: Defense Mechanism.

I'm all for women being financially, emotionally, and mentally independent, but it's like Chris Rock says about people who brag about taking care of their kids - "You're SUPPOSED to take care of your kids, THEY'RE YOUR KIDS! What do you want, a cookie?!"

Women are never supposed to be fully dependant on a guy, and truthfully, no real man would either find that attractive, or ever let that happen. He would support her in her own identity and her own pursuits. But if this is so obvious, why continuously restate it?

I asked over a dozen women what they meant by "independent" in a dating context, and they all said one thing - money. Yes, every single time. When I asked them the next question, "What symbolizes 'independence' in that context?" I got similar answers; basically a list of their possessions, or in other words, "trophies." Degree, real estate, Audi, BMW, art collection, you name it.

I concluded that a woman bragging about her independence is basically saying the following things when dating:
1) I go after trophies, and if you're lucky enough, you're about to become one of them.
2) I'm smart and strong enough to beat you at your own game.
3) My identity and self-worth is tied to the success I've achieved (just look at my car!), and I am attracted to the success that you've achieved (just look at your car!) I know this because the first things I'm going to say to people when I describe you will be what you do for a living, and what you own. That's how shallow I really am.
4) I'm always looking for more, or better, and I've got to assume that you'll always be looking for more, or better, too. Therefore at some point I know you're going to dump me for someone younger and/or better looking.
5) If (when) that happens, I refuse to be on my a$$ with nothing to show for it, so let me warn you right now over and over again that you're not going to get the best of me.

For a number of different reasons, both men and women who enter into relationships in this way are doomed to failure.

Why Most Men Are Wimps

Most men nowdays are wimps because we no longer have some rite of passage into adulthood. Before we had to overcome some test of ourselves to prove our self-worth. Within that test was our self-confidence, the exposure of our limits, and in total, our manhood. Now we're coddled and indemnified at every turn. Survival is now shopping, competition is now leisure, sport is now merely entertainment.

Women grow through connection, men grow through adversity. With the exception of perhaps a career in sales or entrepreneurship, what "rite of passage" does a guy have now?