Declining female happiness
Posted by Patrik Edvardsson | Posted in International Herald Tribune , Ross Douthat , The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness | Posted on 11:07 PM
The was an article I read in the International Herald Tribune about women in the US being less happy even though they are more free, wealthier, can leave abusive relationships, have higher education ect. I was gonna link to, but its not online. Instead I give you a brief summary:
In the 60s women reported to be generally happier than men, now it is reversed. The article was based on the findings in the research paper The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness. Common beliefes behind this trend, such as the decline of the two-parent family and increased work load are, according to the articles author Ross Douthat, not enough to explain this trend. After this his discussion mostly revolve around the idea that giving women more time for children and family is crucial to reverse this trend, I guess all modern women come with a baby these days, at least so it seems. The reseach paper itself might come to more interesting conclusions, from Mr. Douthat's article I take the following:
The feminists will see evidence of a revolution interrupted, in which rising expectations are bumping against glass cielings, breeding entirely justified resentments. The traditionalists will see evidence of a revolution gone wry, in which women have been pressured into lifestyles that run counter to their biological imperatives, and men have been liberated to embrace a piggish iresponsibility.
In other news: allergies are fucking with me.
Yeah...those conclusions irk me. I'm being all kinds of presumptuous to say this without having read the article - but perhaps women don't report being as happy as they used to because the social and personal standards for "success" as a woman have become higher, more varied and more challenging?
Perhaps this article forget to inquire into the men who have taken up metrosexuality. Perhaps this research did not consider how ego-centric self-consciousness has led to some male insecurity in the guise of literal eco-centricity that has left women completely self-dependent in the way they had demanded and yet least expected to despise. Perhaps their unhappiness is their way of saying "look at me, look at me, need me, need me!" Men will be doing this too (if they are not already).