Here’s a scary story to send women back to the kitchen: the more economically dependent a man is on his female partner, the more likely he is to cheat on her. A new study from the American Sociological Association is generating lots of coverage. My favorite headlines for this story so far are:
from Science2.0.com: “Kept Men More Likely To Cheat Than Bigger Breadwinners”
from the Toronto Sun: “She Pays the Bills, He Cheats”
and from the Winnipeg Free Press: “When She Pays, He Plays.”
The study reveals men who are financially dependent on a female partner are five times more likely to cheat than men who contribute an equal amount of income to the partnership. It’s the demise of the American family, the American workforce, life as we know it. If only we women could just stay home, have babies, stop demanding paid maternity leave and stealing our men’s jobs. And, if we crazy feminists still insist on working, can’t we at least just take part time gigs? Because the study also reveals that men in relationships with women who make only three quarters of the men’s income were the least likely to cheat.
But wait. There’s more. The study, “The Effect of Relative Income Disparity on Infidelity for Men and Women,” looked at 18- to 28-year-old married and cohabitating couples. That’s right: 18 to 28 year olds. Isn’t it possible that getting married in your teens and twenties comes with its own relationship stresses and challenges unrelated to who pays the bills? Christine L. Munsch, a PhD candidate in the department of sociology at Cornell University and author of the study, does some really interesting work on gender and I don’t want to dismiss her work. But I do want to caution the ladies, before you quit your jobs to save your marriage and your man’s ego, dig deeper into the study results and see if age, length of relationship, or any other factors may be in play. And, on your way home from work Friday, why don’t you stop and buy your guy some flowers and let him know just how much you love him? Unless of course, he’s cheating.
nobody said you should quit your job and get back in the kitchen. It just said you are better off with a man who makes more money than you, because, men who make less money than you cheat more. A lot more, apparently. Thats all. I dont think age has anything to do with it because not everybody in that age bracket is poor and struggling financially. I owned a business at 22. In fact, I would bet a 28 year old male with a well off 40 year old wife whom he is dependent on financially is even more likely to cheat than if she were closer to 27. Her age and maturity probably wont make it less likely for him to cheat.
My theory as to why men cheat on breadwinners is because women with higher incomes than their husbands are probably more domineering and controlling (read: naggy and witchy. “did i SAY you can buy a new bowling ball? did i SAY you could send your daughter a $150 gift for her birthday?”) than a woman who is more dependent on the man is. Of course he is going to bail on a controlling woman for the same reason a woman would bail on a controlling man. Also, many of those men are probably ONLY with those women for the money and it was never a love relationship from the beginning. Male gold diggers are a predatory dangerous lot and i’m not surprised they cheat more. They also probably kill their women for the will more, too, than females do their rich husbands. Anyways, the WHY doesnt really matter. Just find strong and independent men instead of weak and dependent men. Being strong and independent doesn’t mean you should date trash. “i’m a strong independent woman. Therefor I should date white trash with no money or upwards mobility. I dont need an accomplished doctor. This window washer is better. Its so much better to have a smaller household income” is the thinking of an 88 IQ baboon.
I read the title of the article and my first impression was “Men who don’t contribute at least half of the income are probably scum bags who don’t work and take advantage of their wife/girlfriend just as they always have.” I don’t believe it has to do with a woman working, but a woman who is married to a man who will take advantage of her every time he can. My advice? Kick him out. You’re already paying all the bills yourself, so what’s the difference?