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From: slk@mit-vax.UUCP (Ling Ku)
Newsgroups: net.women,net.politics,net.social
Subject: Re: Discrimination against women and statistics
Message-ID: <287@mit-vax.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 30-Jun-85 17:35:52 EDT
Article-I.D.: mit-vax.287
Posted: Sun Jun 30 17:35:52 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 6-Jul-85 09:26:20 EDT
References: <482@ttidcc.UUCP> <8203@ucbvax.ARPA> <8204@ucbvax.ARPA> <581@mtung.UUCP> <405@h-sc1.UUCP> <1862@amdcad.UUCP>
Reply-To: slk@mit-vax.UUCP (Siu-Ling Ku)
Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 51
Xref: watmath net.women:6262 net.politics:9775 net.social:794
Summary: 

In article <1862@amdcad.UUCP> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
>
>Does this mean you're willing to marry a man who makes less money than you?
>That you're willing to "marry below your class"? I would suspect many women
>are not. I'd be happy to hear if I'm wrong.
>-- 
>
> Phil Ngai +1 408 749 5720
> UUCP: {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra}!amdcad!phil
> ARPA: amdcad!phil@decwrl.ARPA

First of all, earning ability has nothing to do with one's "class", if I may be
so wise to understand what you mean by "class".

If two men have have identical interest, temperament, looks ... in short, 
everything else being equal execpt how much they earn, I guess most women (for
that matter, most logical men given the reverse situation), would choose the 
one making more money.   BUT that doesn't mean I would not marry a man that 
earns less than me, as long as our combined income can meet my standard of 
living.

Some men I know (being from a conservative, immigrant Asian family) WANT
to marry a woman that earns less, has less education, less intelligent, ... 
than they are so that they can feel *SUPERIOR* to their wives.  Also, even 
though their wives work 8 hours a day, they (the wives) are expected to 
take care of their kids, cook, wash dishes, clean up the house, etc.  Why? 
Well, he will explain, because he is making most of the money, so it is just
fair that she does more house work.  And I think that is fair (nobody forced
the women to marry such a jerk to start with, besides, someone's got to do 
the house work).
(NOTE: 	I have nothing against Asian males,  I think they are great, so don't
flame me on that :-).

If the combined income from both husband and wife can sustain a standard of
living that is acceptable (to the individuals involved, of course),
I think most women (myself included) won't mind marrying a man that earns less
that she does provided that he would do as much house work as the women who
earn less that their husband does.  Now, honestly, I think it is HARDER to find
a man who is willing to do more house work, be humble in front of her wife 
(for those who thinks that money ==> class or prestige or inflated ego), etc
than it is to find a woman who is willing to marry "below her class".

I don't think men are the *sole* culprit in this phenomenon, I also know of
women who won't even consider marrying a man that earns less than she does.
(I'd subscribe 80% blame to men and 20% to women for being so spineless).
I think that men (since our society is male dominant for the last Nth years)
are responsible for fostering/imposing such attitude of male superiority/
female subordination and it is not fair to blame the women for succumbing to 
thousands of years of brain-washing.

				Siu-Ling  Ku