Well this 27 year-old female Ph.D. would LOVE to find an analogous version of the traditional female counterpart: Maid, chef, nanny, sexual object and source of fawning affection, all rolled into one. Are you kidding me? Where do I sign up??
Being as I'm evidently too old, miserable, and infertile to attract a comparably-educated man, that is.
So you come home after a long day a work, you're eating your dinner, mind still clouded by the jerks you just finished dealing with at work, and hubby says, "You didn't even notice!" You frantically look around....is it his hair? New center-piece? Throw-rugs?
An hour later, he stands in front of the TV (Fox News), looks over his shoulder, "Do these pants make me look fat?"
Trust me. You're not missing much.
LOL! Hang in there. After 12 years of college at the age of 32 I married a guy with 3 more years of education than me.
Wanting to marry someone who has a similar background to you has nothing to do with feminism. It's been going on for many, many years, even before our men hating feminist were born. It has everything to do with who can you want to share forever with and that usually entails a person that shares your interests and dreams. People who value education marry people who value education. Seems logical to me.
But...I chucked it all when my kids came. Motherhood is by far the world's best career.
My wife has her degree. I'm a high-school gradjiate [sic].
I stay home with the babies. She works. Simple economics.
Any sociologists got a problem with that?
I can't tell you how much I wish I could have gotten my Ph.D. at your age. I'm a tad resentful of the circumstances that prevented me from being able to go to college and go on to a Ph.D. right after high school--but no one likes it when I talk about what I see as my missed opportunity. They always point out that I did so much before I ever went to graduate school, things that they never got to do (like spend 4 years in the Navy, get married, and raise a son). As it turns out, I'm now doing with my Ph.D. the one thing I've always wanted to do--I'm just a bit older than many of the people doing this, which is okay.
In what subject did you do your Ph.D.? Are you now doing a post-doc?
Ok, great. Then you are unlike the women in the article who are complaining about the whole 'marrying down' concept.
Being as I'm evidently too old, miserable, and infertile to attract a comparably-educated man, that is.
Just in general, Doctor, observe the following. It is not uncommon for, say, a 30-33 year old man to marry a 22-25 year old woman. It's plausible. Now flip it around. It doesn't happen. Even as much of a 2-3 year difference is not as likely. It's unfortunate for women in that their options are more limited and less flexible than a man's. My point was that the women who are discussed in the article missed this point. Of COURSE there are examples to the contrary, but in general, this is the way it is.
I really don't want to get into the specifics of your case, you may be an exceptional example, but I don't think very many women go through the trouble of getting a PhD with the goal of raising 4-5 children and not dumping them in day care (aka 'child abuse.')
Haha! Kudos! But what excites men and women in a potential mate is different.
For example, I was speaking with a woman at my old job - she was 30, attractive, accomplished, very educated, and very nice. She had met a man a few years older than her who was very successful financially (in the $600k+ level), powerful (high management in a notable company), had a great title at his company, etc. She matter-of-factly spoke about how these thinks appealed to her, which I think is normal.
[That relationship didn't work out - she worked too much and wasn't available enough for his taste, which I understand completely]
Now, I think many women feel that way. But the fact is, most men are not particularly impressed sexually if they met a woman who is a CEO at a big company, makes $750k a year, travels the world going to power meetings all around the world in a corporate jet, etc. Men, on balance, just don't swoon over that kind of stuff, in themselves.
If she offers other things, then that kind of woman may become more attractive to the typical man. Frankly, men aren't too sexually impressed by a woman who is sucessful in the business world or well educated. Men can and do admire those things in a woman, but we are talking about picking romantic companions and mates. Academic degrees and a high paying job, etc. in themselves, aren't what attract men to women.