Anonymous wrote:I’m 36, married to a 50 year old. I bring in 65% of our HHI, which is only possible because he is at home keeping our life together while I work long hours and travel. We don’t contribute equally financially or in our home life, and that’s okay. I have several friends in similar situations and I have a feeling it will become more mainstream as time goes on.
Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what women plan to do, but for men there are literally billions of women in Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, and Japan who would love to marry a reasonably successful American man.
My advice to my son is to avoid American women, pile up money until he is 40, then retire and move to someplace like Thailand and start a family there.
Anonymous wrote:The solution is that men need to make more money. Wtf.
Anonymous wrote:The solution is that men need to make more money. Wtf.
Anonymous wrote:The average of the women I know is so much higher than the average of the men I know, it’s kind of nuts.
Anonymous wrote:This was the title of an Op-Ed in today's NYT. I won't post it both due to copyright and as part got (unnecessarily) political, but some of it resonated with me as Mom to a girl.
It said girls are becoming more and more successful academically and careerwise.
But there is a constant longstanding Prince Charming sense that a female should only be with a man who is higher-earning. Since females are eclipsing many males, this leaves a shrinking pool of desirable men everyone is chasing after, who get to set the terms any may be less likely to settle down.
The op-ed cites research that a man is most happy with his wife earning 40% of the household income. And may feel anxiety if she outearns him.
Therefore, many females and males are left single and alone.
Solutions?
Anonymous wrote:Doesn't high status imply someone has heard of your spouse or the position they occupy? Nobody outside of the music business has ever heard of this woman's husband (unless you are one of the few that goes to his local gigs).
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think women like men who are higher status, which often but not always translates into income. I make a ton of money and like when a guy makes more, but I can also see being with a guy who is e.g. in a prestigious govt appointment, or has a job requiring a very high level of intelligence that doesn't happen to pay as much, or who has a lower income but has made wise investments and has wealth/security. I doubt Heidi Cruz has any issues with being the breadwinner in her family.
Another example is a BigLaw female partner married to a "famous" session guitarist. He doesn't make much money (maybe $50k total in a good year), but is known by every major rock group and plays on many of their studio albums. She has been to the Grammy's several times and has Dave Grohl or Eddie Veder or Flea or somebody staying at their house sometimes when they are in town.
It's a coolness factor that she could never create on her own. It's also making $50k working a total of maybe 45-60 days per year, so he is essentially the SAH parent as well. He is also busy playing with his local rock & jazz band which doesn't earn much of anything, but has a decent local following.
I'm sorry that's still high status, even if it's not income related. Saying you are ok with a man who has a prestigious govt job or is a renowned guitarist is not a compromise just because he makes less than you.