the backlash continues

[novapsyche]

Don't Marry Career Women (found in feminist)

To be clear, we're not talking about a high-school dropout minding a cash register. For our purposes, a "career girl" has a university-level (or higher) education, works more than 35 hours a week outside the home and makes more than $30,000 a year.

If a host of studies are to be believed, marrying these women is asking for trouble. If they quit their jobs and stay home with the kids, they will be unhappy (Journal of Marriage and Family, 2003). They will be unhappy if they make more money than you do (Social Forces, 2006). You will be unhappy if they make more money than you do (Journal of Marriage and Family, 2001). You will be more likely to fall ill (American Journal of Sociology). Even your house will be dirtier (Institute for Social Research).

Comments

[pigfish.livejournal.com]

There are so many things wrong with that article, it's hard to know where to start.

[blue-lightning.livejournal.com]

Oh my freaking god.

[mehinda.livejournal.com]

Wow. I love how the article stresses that the trends don't belie causality and then make the entire article about cause. Blech. This is one of the more offensive articles I've read.

[mehinda.livejournal.com]

makes*

I'm so angry, I've forgotten the basic laws of subject/verb agreement ;-)

[cabell.livejournal.com]

Yes, particularly because they stress that correlation /= causality when they're talking about the health benefits of marriage, which in fact have been repeatedly demonstrated NOT to be solely a selection effect, and which are much stronger for men than for women.

[xterminal.livejournal.com]

To add a minor, anecdotal voice of dissent... I'd be bloody thrilled if my wife made more than I did-- especially if she made enough that I didn't have to work at the rathole any more.

And is it me, or so others see the name Journal of Marriage and Family and catch an echo of AFA?

[xterminal.livejournal.com]

so = do, because I can't proofread.

[rikhei.livejournal.com]

The corporate body behind the publication is actually the National Council on Family Relations, so says their publisher. I didn't take more than a quick look at the "About Us" page, so I couldn't tell you if they're associated with the AFA, but I didn't see any Christian rhetoric on this web page.

I also want to point out that it's recognized as a scholarly journal, and I'm pretty sure I've pointed students toward articles in that journal before. Also, Blackwell's is a pretty damn big publishing company. (They're also a pretty big vendor - we bought most of our books from them at my undergraduate institution's library.)

Then again, you were just talking about the name of the journal...

[cabell.livejournal.com]

The Journal of Marriage and Family is a reputable social scientific journal. These findings are almost all being taken drastically out of context.

[cabell.livejournal.com]

(Which is generally what happens when social scientific findings are reported in the mass media, sadly.)

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, that column doesn't mention (let alone cite) studies which came to different conclusions.

[o-lucky-man.livejournal.com]

Gawker has some snarky posts about this article and its author:

http://gawker.com/news/forbes/forbes-writer-may-have-a-few-issues-with-institution-of-marriage-196147.php

[aiela.livejournal.com]

I think that while some of those things can most certainly be true some of the time, generalizing anyone's personal decision is just stupid. Yes, some women who quit their jobs to stay home are unhappy. Not all of them are. Yes, some men get cranky if their wives make more money than them. Not all of them, obviously.

And yeah, housework tends to be one of the first things to go with two working parents. And? I fail to see how whether or not my floors shine has anything to do with how content and happy my relationship is.

Saying that "OHMIGOD all of these things will happen and WONT THAT JUST SUCK?" is just stupid.

[brendand.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't read the article, but as there's pretty much no chance in hell that I'm going to marry a woman who makes over $30k, I'm not too worried about it.