Fear not, smart women

Washington Times ^ | 11/16/06 | Shelley Widhalm

[qam1]

Those who say that men don't like women with brains and careers are misleading women, says New York columnist Christine B. Whelan, author of "Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women," published this year.

Ms. Whelan, 29, says she wrote the book, in part, to respond to New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd's claim in her 2005 book "Are Men Necessary?" that success decreases a woman's chance for marriage.

"This isn't good news," Ms. Whelan said about reading the book when she was single and had just finished her doctoral degree in economic and social history. "The social scientist in me knew better than to accept this conventional wisdom without doing research of my own."

Ms. Whelan researched U.S. Census Bureau data, commissioned a national opinion survey and conducted interviews with more than 100 high-achieving men and women in nine cities to gather material for her book. What she found was that high-achieving women -- women with graduate degrees and/or an income in the top 10 percent of women in their age group -- married at the same rate as all other women did, but later in life, and that outdated information and misinterpreted statistics had women believing otherwise.

She calls these women SWANS, or Strong Women Achievers, No Spouse

The statistics Ms. Whelan provides in her book show that American women marry by an average age of 30 if they have a graduate degree, the median age for all women to marry is 25, and 90 percent of women marry by 44.

"Ms. Dowd is painting the wrong picture for our generation," Ms. Whelan said, adding that Ms. Dowd was right in saying that prior to the 1980s, it was more difficult for smart, successful women to get married and have children............

[momfirst]

The problem is women who confuse "smart" with "educated." No amount of education will make a bitter moonbat smart.

Ditto that!! - and it applies to men and women.

[RatRipper]

I don't mind strong, career minded women at all, provided that they are not spoiled, obnoxious, self-absorbed, selfish, materialistic control freaks as my experience has led me to believe many of them are.

[Earthdweller]

"I don't mind strong, career minded women at all, provided that they are not spoiled, obnoxious, self-absorbed, selfish, materialistic control freaks as my experience has led me to believe many of them are."

Sounds like the ones you met need to grown up or see a therapist.

[Rte66]

I think you meant "complementary." (This is where my ex-DH would've told me to "dummy up.")

[M. Dodge Thomas]

All I know is that being married to a smart woman has been good for my health, my finances, and my love life.

[Old_Mil]

I love smart women. I just don't like self-centered overly ambitious ones who leave heel marks in piles of bodies (and kids in day care) on their way to the top.

[dforest]

Probably why slick Willie chose Monica instead of Hillary, he prefers smart women

[Earthdweller]

"I think you meant "complementary." (This is where my ex-DH would've told me to "dummy up.")"

I never could find my magical intelligence turn off valve either. I guess I spent too much time reading, writing, researching, building computers and various other "non-intelligent" activities to find it.

[Paloma_55]

Dummy up!

:)

[HungarianGypsy]

I don't know about now, but back when I was redhotmatter, if a man even suspected a girl of intelligence, she needed a new vette and a set of D's to get his attention.

Unless he doesn't know one way or the other on first sight. I remember as a teenage girl I would want to go check out the cute guys. One acquaintance said I should be looking for someone who had a good personality and was intelligent. I never went up to a guy and thought, he's the ugliest thing alive, but he might have a great personality, so I'll go after him.

My husband noticed my -- uh --assets first, then found out about the intelligence after we talked.

[Earthdweller]

"I love smart women. I just don't like self-centered overly ambitious ones who leave heel marks in piles of bodies (and kids in day care) on their way to the top."

That's not a smart woman....that's a she-devil. LOL.

[pax_et_bonum]

I'd liek to see one describe the difference between "strong and independent" and "self centered, and uncompromising"

Many men are selfish and try their best to take advantage of women who aren't strong, independent, and uncompromising.

[Old_Mil]

Indeed...but the question is often asked by over degreed women in their mid to late 30s who have done precisely this and now blame men for the consequences of their choices.

[fr_freak]

Is English so imprecise and limited that you can't express your thoughts in English?

Heh - that was my first reaction too.

[pax_et_bonum]

I don't know about most women, but I prefer smart men.

[Centurion2000]

The problem is, many women just don't know the difference between strength and bitchery.

Yep, and when a guy finds a girl that knows the difference.... snap her up.

[Xenalyte]

If Benjamin Netanyahu had taken a different direction in life, he could have been Israel's answer to John Rhys-Davies.

His voice is just magnificent.

(And he's just way good-lookin'.)

[derllak]

I hear ya! You sound very smart and sensible to me!

[Earthdweller]

Any woman who blames a man for the consequences of her own choices is a retread from the fifties. There are just too many roads to travel now.

[RatRipper]

Attitude has been a huge problem with women I have met, and that is not confined to professional women. I'll be 50 tomorrow, and am a banker with something to offer a lady. Good women with some social skills and a little class are hard to find.