What is up with this?

Being a single woman myself, I am occasionally ashamed of the tactics that women worldwide employ in order to marry. I have heard of pregnancy scares, creation of illusionary men to make another jealous, or simply that you must "play the game".
On the way home this evening, I listened while a professional matchmaker peddled her latest book on "How to Date Men". Then of course, she rattled off the depressing factoids that every major city has more single women than men, and how competitive things have become. Apparently if you listen to her (of course, I believe a second book was mentioned on "Dating to Marry"), and follow her advice... you will no doubt land a big fish.
I am completely offended when I hear things like this, or turn on the TV to see the latest "Bachelor" episode where woman throw themselves physically, and emotionally into this contest, and subsequently at the shows latest star. (and humiliating themselves along the way, it wouldn't be good ratings without it!)

Listening to this "advice" and seeing TV shows that further objectify women as helpless creatures that become trophies for men to prance around in front of friends and business colleagues is really offensive. Isn't this 2008? I mean, isn't that what woman suffrage was all about, so that we could get further away from these antiquated beliefs?

And even better... now we are turning dating and marriage into a marketing tactic, like we (women) are in fact some sort of commodity?

And what DO men do to improve themselves?
We accept their pot-bellied, balding selves, even as they tell us.... "Honey, I think that you need to lose a few pounds..."