tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post5203778697528157623..comments2024-03-27T21:39:27.170-07:00Comments on The Adventures of Notorious Ph.D., Girl Scholar: The House Always WinsNotorious Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08700875559325201086noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-56576370856392888352009-09-22T19:46:37.828-07:002009-09-22T19:46:37.828-07:00Reliable studies show that married men are the hap...Reliable studies show that married men are the happiest of all men, and that married women are the unhappiest of all women. That's a telling statistic, and one I readily believe.<br /><br />Marriage has historically worked to benefit men at the expense of women, and unless we think that women are foolish or so self-deluding that they don't notice...they're going to be less happy about the arrangement.<br /><br />I wonder too how much of this comparison "over time" has to do with anxieties or frustrations having to do with aging. Not only is aging something that can be depressing sometimes, women are subjected to pressures about their aging that men just aren't.<br /><br />(Sorry to be late to the party. Interesting post!)Historiannhttp://historiann.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-79386200252932016532009-09-22T14:45:14.875-07:002009-09-22T14:45:14.875-07:00I see this sort of shabby statistical argument dra...I see this sort of shabby statistical argument dragged through the popular press every few years, and people too rarely question its underlying premises, so thanks for this. <br /><br />In my view, women's greater access to education, political representation and employment opportunities has probably just made us a whole lot smarter and more aware of the many ways the deck is still stacked against us. Oh no, wait, what am I saying?? If I was only at home, barefoot and pregnant, I'd be able to re-connect with that elusive feminine bliss.Bavardesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10737120234578385755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-2880658125344272662009-09-21T17:55:57.747-07:002009-09-21T17:55:57.747-07:00Sing it, sister. "... as women become more aw...Sing it, sister. "... as women become more aware of the contrast between the postfeminist equality we're told we have achieved, and the manifest and persistent inequalities that remain, we're bound to be unhappy."<br /><br />I feel like I'm living this everyday.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-44865920318092454242009-09-21T08:53:03.890-07:002009-09-21T08:53:03.890-07:00Love the J curve -- or "revolution of rising ...Love the J curve -- or "revolution of rising expectations", I think Lawrence Stone called it!<br /><br />And I think you're right. He's just selling books.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-21628108229438203972009-09-21T08:08:45.966-07:002009-09-21T08:08:45.966-07:00Thanks for sharing!
While I can see where he'...Thanks for sharing!<br /><br />While I can see where he's coming from in some respects (that the decrease of women's work in the home and the increase of men's contributions at home should make women happier), he misses the boat in a few ways. Foremost, to me, is his assertion that sex stereotypes no longer dictate what men and women should do. If that's the case, why are vocations like secretarial work, nursing, K-12 teaching, and child care (all, incidentally, undervalued and underpaid professions) still dominated by women? Why are there still articles that treat the stay at home dad like some freak of nature? Why do I get asked if I plan on having a career, even in the final stages of my PhD? <br /><br />Stereotyping and its evil cousin sexism are still very much alive and well, and do cause great harm to men and women alike. I'm curious to see what else he has to say, although I doubt I'll agree with most of it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-6230177122212085532009-09-21T06:56:31.069-07:002009-09-21T06:56:31.069-07:00I do stand by my last paragraph, however. I believ...<i>I do stand by my last paragraph, however. I believe that as women become more aware of the contrast between the postfeminist equality we're told we have achieved, and the manifest and persistent inequalities that remain, we're bound to be unhappy. Then again, unhappiness can be the best catalyst for change.</i><br /><br />I didn't mean to say I disagreed with this. On the contrary, your post is an example of saying what you think and describing what needs changing--just the kind of testimony from experience that the data harvesters neglect, with predictably (and, I would guess, assumed <i>a priori</i>) anti-feminist results.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-47601800229651071652009-09-20T21:55:21.004-07:002009-09-20T21:55:21.004-07:00Thanks for the link, RC. More proof that statisti...Thanks for the link, RC. More proof that statistics can be made to say whatever someone wants them to. I do stand by my last paragraph, however. I believe that as women become more aware of the contrast between the postfeminist equality we're told we have achieved, and the manifest and persistent inequalities that remain, we're bound to be unhappy. Then again, unhappiness can be the best catalyst for change.<br /><br />And yeah, this is about patriarchal equilibrium, again.Notorious Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08700875559325201086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6648409483330236099.post-22521047550717255652009-09-20T21:28:16.512-07:002009-09-20T21:28:16.512-07:00For a skeptical view of those reliable figures:
h...For a skeptical view of those reliable figures:<br /><br />http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1753<br /><br />Collecting and over- or misinterpreting survey data <i>on people who can and do speak for themselves</i> is a shortcut to the conclusions the interpreter was trying to substantiate all along--so much more reassuring than actually paying attention to what they say.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com