Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site mit-vax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!mtuxo!mtunh!mtung!mtunf!ariel!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!hplabs!sdcrdcf!sdcsvax!dcdwest!ittvax!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!mit-vax!slk 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