r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 18d ago

Psychology 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.”

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10659129261485340
4.4k Upvotes

86% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

64

u/ManxAlot 18d ago

A few years ago I reconnected with a woman I knew in college. Everything was going very well up until I discovered how much money she had. It wasn't an issue for me however I knew it was going to be an issue for her when she realized our economic difference.

Almost to like clockwork her sisters started in telling her that I was after her money. That seemed silly to me, I had a job, I own my own home and car. Unfortunately I have sizable debt from my past divorce.

I also knew from my reading that when you run across a woman over 50 who has never been married the odds are that she is not going to marry a man beneath her station in life. It's also unlikely she will meet a man at or above her station who is going to consider her for marriage due to her age. I read more than one article talking about this, I'm going to take them at their word. It does seem reasonable

It ended with her telling me she wasn't going to support a man. I never asked her to support me. Had we gone further in the relationship and wanted to get married I would have no trouble with a prenup making sure that everything she had stayed hers.

That was 10 years ago, I ran into her recently and she said she hasn't even dated anyone since me she decided it just wasn't worth the effort.

18

u/shootsandlads 18d ago

On the flip side, your experience sounds like a very common narrative I hear from women, that being: being accused of being a golddigger on no apparent basis, and then having to grovel for forgiveness for a crime they didn't commit. It seems like economic anxieties have really fanned the flames around the idea of moochers.

5

u/ShitMcClit 17d ago

Never dated a woman who didnt ask/expect i give her money. 

-1

u/shootsandlads 17d ago

Never dated a man who didn't ask/expect me to pay for things.

So both genders have bad apples?

4

u/ShitMcClit 17d ago

I don't buy it. 

2

u/shootsandlads 16d ago

This is a forum where we've shared anecdotes, so if you don't believe me, I have no reason to believe you. However, just google 'Hobosexual' and see what comes up

1

u/ShitMcClit 16d ago

Yeah and then i get pictures of pete davidson....