What Men Want
Today I ran across an article in the NY Times about the fact that the latest evidence (from 2008) shows that men care a lot less than they used to about women having more education than them. In 1956, men were asked to rank the most desirable qualities for women. Education and intelligence came in 11th on a scale of 18 qualities. In 2008, education and intelligence had moved up to 4th place. At the same time qualities like being a good cook or a good housekeeper moved much further down the list in 2008.
Sounds like great news right? Yeah, guys no longer have a problem being with someone smarter! Which is a good thing, since males account for only 43 percent of American college graduates these days. The rest of the article was mostly about how marriages with the female half being more educated than the male were generally as successful as the reverse. Not least because for a woman, one of the most telling factors of a successful marriage is how willing her husband is to pitch in with housekeeping. Which a man is more likely to do if his wife is making more money than he is. To be honest, the article was a little meandering. Check it out here if you love statistics.
In order, here are the top twelve qualities men wanted in women as of 2008:
Mutual attraction, love
Dependable character
Emotional stability, maturity
Education, intelligence
Pleasing disposition
Sociability
Good health
Good looks
Desire for home, children
Ambition, industriousness
Refinement, neatness
Good financial prospects
First of all, someone please explain "pleasing disposition". Secondly, what I couldn't help but wonder as I painstakingly minimized and maximized their chart to get this list (you're welcome, world) is has what men want really changed that much? Or have the percentage of men that are savvy enough to realize that it's not cool to say you're looking for "a cook in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom, heh heh" just gone up?
Most of the top twelve qualities men look for have remained the same since 1939 when the study was first administered. Most of the rankings have traded places, but they remain the same top twelve with two exceptions. In 1939, #8 was a good cook and it is now good looks. And no surprise here, but in 1939 #10 was chastity which is now ranked dead last at #18.
So what does this mean? That men want the same things they did in 1939, but now they want you to be better looking and put out. Cooking optional though.
