Forbes posts and then pulls controversial article about marriage

[innerSpaceman]

yes, but that's a much less pithy notion.

[Frogberto]

The title of the article, and the fact that Forbes pulled it, are what are of note here. Everyone's entitled to their experience and opinions, including commemorating them to writing.

[Prudence]

Swell.

So what was the point of that? I'm going to have a miserable marriage and life and because I already have some education under my belt even quitting now to play the happy homemaker won't work and I'll eventually kill myself anyhow?

These sorts of pieces seem to have a "neener neener" playground quality to them.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Prudence

Swell.

So what was the point of that? I'm going to have a miserable marriage and life and because I already have some education under my belt even quitting now to play the happy homemaker won't work and I'll eventually kill myself anyhow?

These sorts of pieces seem to have a "neener neener" playground quality to them.

Knowledge is power. Too many people blindly enter into marriages without understanding the amount of work that's necessary to maintain them. These kinds of things, when presented right, help reinforce that.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't presented right.

The first thought that came to me was, well, duh it's going to look like it's the result of working women for the simple fact that we're starting from a baseline where it was more common for women to not work. In an equal world, I'd expect the results to show that simple a 2-income household results in more marital problems than a 1-income household, regardless of the gender of the 1 worker. The "woman's fault" slant likely comes from the fact that A) there are more single income families where it's the man who works and B) we're still in a culture where it's the woman in a DINK marriage that, when kids come, gets the brunt of the pressure.

None of this, of course, applies on an individual level. Statistics never do, that's the nature of statistics. A study like this isn't out to prove that there's something wroing with your marriage. It simply is a way to highlight pitfalls to be aware of, something too many people like to ignore. I just wish the findings could have been presented better.

[Prudence]

But there was no intention here to present it right. Maybe I just never see them, but these statstics and whatnot never seem to be presented with the intention to highlight potential pitfalls and perhaps help avoid them. They're presented as neener neener gotcha "proof" that working women are responsible for society's ills. Which always seems to go over gangbusters because it appears to confirm what so many already believe.

[Stan4dSteph]

So I need to quit my job now or remain forever single. Bummer.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Prudence

But there was no intention here to present it right.

Which I acknowledged. But considering that it's pretty much a given that the public presentation of such studies are a load of crap, if it's something that interests me I find it no trick to look right through the b.s. and do what I can to find details on the actual study, not just read an article published about the study.

This guy's sensationalist headline was deservedly thrown out. But that doesn't mean the study itself doesn't have some valid points to glean. No sense throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Which I acknowledged. But considering that it's pretty much a given that the public presentation of such studies are a load of crap, if it's something that interests me I find it no trick to look right through the b.s. and do what I can to find details on the actual study, not just read an article published about the study.

I was just about to post basically the same thing. I'm not a fan of reading opinions, so all I see is whatever information the article provides. I guess that prevents me from getting mad at stuff like this. Like Alex says - nothing new under the sun.

[Tramspotter]

[€uroMeinke]

I think men should just marry women they are in love with - I wonder how the stats fair from being in love to not being in love and the overall success of the relationship?