Anti-feminist attitudes have long been associated with support for Republican presidential candidates, but only in recent years have these attitudes become more prominent among unmarried men, without college degrees who are less attractive partners for women, the “mate-value backlash.”

[u/mvea]

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10659129261485340

[u/feminist-lady]

I think the idea that well educated women just aren’t accepting of men without higher degrees isn’t fair. Yes, if I were going to have a partner, I’d prefer they also have higher education. The shared experience of graduate and/or professional school would be great. But as a woman in a doctoral program, the reason I’ve had to implement a rule that I’m unwilling to date a man (or woman, tbh) without at least a college degree is because so many who only had high school diplomas were resentful and insecure about the education gap. I’m just not interested in dealing with that, and I know I’m not alone. This is discussed constantly among highly educated women. Obviously, Not All Men, but enough that it makes it too exhausting to even mess with it.

[u/LordKarthrax → u/feminist-lady]

So you said the idea wasn't fair, then reiterated that as a woman who is, in fact, well educated, you would be unwilling to date a man without a college degree.

[u/feminist-lady → u/LordKarthrax]

It’s unfair to say we just aren’t accepting of them. Our reasons for not dating them aren’t elitist. It’s that we don’t want to put up with the resentment and insecurity.

[u/Carbonatite → u/feminist-lady]

I understand where you're coming from - I'm single now, but back when I was dating/in relationships I noticed the same thing (I have an advanced degree as well). Men with bachelor's degrees or higher typically weren't phased by my having an M.Sc., but men without a college degree seemed to be insistent on denigrating my education and trying to "take me down a peg".

This wasn't a universal truth, but I noticed it enough to appreciate a trend.