The following is a public service announcement ...

If Martians (male ones, of course) were to land on Earth, they might make the following assumption: women drew the short straw in life, enduring monthly periods, PMS, childbirth and menopause, all the while producing more hormones than they, or anyone within arm’s-length, can handle.

And, if the aliens were to focus in on a single woman in her 30s, they may come to the conclusion that the agony of being female doesn’t end there. At this point in life she’s in a race against time to meet a man, fall in love, get him to fall in love her, move in together, get married, have a baby (the latter two in no particular order as long as they happen) and live happily ever after.

After reveling footloose and fancy-free in her 20s, from the day she hits 30 her carefree attitude screeches to an abrupt halt. Mother Nature is suddenly occupying all her thoughts and her biological clock is ticking faster and faster as each day, month and year passes with no sign of “the one” entering her life anytime soon.

Of course, for the 30-something single men of Earth this isn’t a concern – nature gave them the choice to put fatherhood on hold, worry-free, until their 40s, 50s or even 60s. They’re busily dating and consciously staying single until later in life because they know when the time is right (for them), reproduction won't be a problem.

None of the above observations were made by extraterrestrial beings. It’s a sad fact that our own society portrays 30-something single men and women completely differently. The women are labeled “expired goods” while the men are given accolades and told to enjoy their freedom while they can. Although TV programs like Sex in the City helped to change people’s opinions of single women over 30 in some regard, the fact remains that if we want children the natural way (i.e., no sperm donor), we need a man.

With no sight of Mr. Right on the horizon, she feels pressure from herself and those around her (even if they don’t say so out loud) to get on it and meet the father-to-be of her unborn offspring. Her parents either nag her or shoot worried looks across her head at each other, anxious she’ll be left alone after they’re gone. Her friends offer to fix her up with just about any man who’s single – height, weight and chemistry not being factors in the equation whatsoever. And then there are the snickering colleagues, who rib her and suggest she “switch teams.” (Yes, this has actually happened to some of us.)

What’s a 30-something single girl to do? According to well-meaning friends and family, she may want to lower her standards some, accept that not everyone is perfect and compromise and her list of must-haves for a man. She should put things in perspective and ask herself, does it really matter if his shoes suck? Does that eminent bald spot mean he won’t be a great dad? Is it really a big deal he still lives with his parents?

She also needs to – they say – put herself in check. No talking about babies and marriage in the early stages of dating. Men already know what women in their 30s want – if he smells the slightest whiff of desperation beyond that societal stigma, he’ll take off running for the hills.

And what about looking for love in the wrong places? She’ll never find a man at the bar, her friends say while nursing their babies and staring adoringly at husbands they met at a Sigma Chi fraternity party back in college. Why not meet someone at the office, through friends or go online? (Like she hasn’t thought of any of those options before.)

How come when a woman turns 30, she’s supposed to throw all her standards, all her dreams and all the things she holds important out the window? In your 20s you’re free to find him however you like, hold him to the highest standards and tell him it’s your way or the highway. As soon as you hit the big three-oh, though, you must change yourself to snag a man, any man.

It’s the million-dollar question people, and we want to hear what you have to say about it.