News, Report: U.S. Marriages are Down...Way Down. (Christian, ladies, husband)

[mtneer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by NotARedneck
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtneer
It doesn't even matter what you look like there is always some guy hard up and will chase you.




For a lot of women, only a small percentage of men are acceptable and these men are always going after OTHER women or the hussies are just approaching them directly. This leads to a lot of frustration. Abusing other men is a convenient release.

Originally Posted by mandavaran

It seems that the older a woman gets, the narrower her field of acceptance gets. By this I mean she simply gets pickier and pickier until virtually no man will meet her standards.

From my perspective, there are lots of unattached women in their 40's and 50's who are perfectly average. They have average looks, average jobs, usually signs of age such as wrinkles, gray hair, weight issues etc. Fine. Men have those things as well.

These women seem to think though that George Clooney is out there waiting for them and they're not going to budge unless George comes along and sweeps them off their feet. Uh yeahhh, right. Then of course, they complain there are no good men available. Maybe Mr. Average just wasn't given a chance to show he can be terrific in many ways?

Truthfully, men also lust after glamour gals. Most are realistic enough though to know that they aren't going to get Eva Longoria. If they want love, sex, companionship, etc, they will need to pursue the average women. Which is what they do. They don't let fantasy get in the way of reality.

I think back to when I was a young man and all you had to be to attract females was "kinda cute". Most of us fellas were kinda cute enough to at least attract some girls.

Now, we older guys HAVE to be handsome, fit, smart, confident and sensitive, all in mega-doses. We also have to be a certain height, have the right amount of hair, the right color of hair, make a certain amount of money, have the right kind of job, have a particular type of pet, a home in the right area, not too many kids (preferably none), the right amount of friends (not too many or too few), the exact same interests, the correct amount of past relationships (too few and you're a social misfit; too many and you're a player)...

I could go on and on but I think you get the point.

One man's opinion: Too many average women have priced themselves out of the market.

That's not what I meant at all. Despite what people think men are not picky at all about women. You can be fat and ugly and still have men chasing you because all men want is sex. At my ugliest I've had 3 men at a time chasing me. I'm not looking because I have absolutely no interest in a relationship with a man and if I wanted something to take care of and clean up after I'd get a puppy. But even with that and being in my 40's, starting to get grey hair, wrinkles and being overweight men still won't leave me alone. That's why I say there is always some man out there hard up cause it doesn't matter what you look like there are always men out there desperate for sex.

I don't think some people get it that just because someone is not married doesn't mean they have been priced out of the market. Some women have absolutely no use for a man and aren't married cause they don't want something else to pick up after. I don't want to use a man for money and that's the only real reason to get married. I'm sure there are men out there that also have no interest in marriage either. Not everyone has been priced out...some removed themselves from market... or wholesale slaughter otherwise known as marriage. Not everyone wants to have to live with another person, be abused and controlled and told what to do and when to do it. And not everyone wants their credit ruined by another. The marriage rate will continue to fall as the younger generation of women know they don't have to be married or have kids unlike generations in the past who were forced to be barefoot and pregnant because they were completely dependent on some creep for their very existence.

[Phil75230]

About picky middle-aged women who are unmarried: It may be that they get pickier as they get older, BUT it's also likely they were ultra-picky to begin with. As the less picky women got married at younger ages, it stands to reason that the pickest women make up a higher proportion of the single women the further up the age bracket you go.

Men's health and marriage: I tend to agree with Nutz (for once!!), the men who do get married are more likely to be healthier to begin with. As for unmarried men being less healthy, there may be a correlation but (1) married and divorced men are even less healthy than never-married men (2) both unmarried men and unhealthy men tend to be of lower income. I have yet to run across an article that deals with that, (3) a higher percentage of unmarried men than married men cook less, which means more fast food consumption (self-explanatory), (4) probably others I missed.

What I really want to see is a study looking at the following cohorts of men:

married, married-and-divorced (separated into kids and no kids), and never married.

Each of these are also separated by income, education, occupation, race, urban/suburban/rural residency, hours per week worked, and undoubtedly other factors potentially relevant to one's health, longevity and opportunities to marry.

In the end, the most the "married men live longer" claim proves (assuming its true) is that unmarried and especially married-and-divorced men need to become more educated and conscientious about their health. It's still VERY possible for these men to beat the odds and live a long and healthy life (My diet is at least 3/4 vegetables, chicken, fish, whole grains, and rice. I keep soft drinks to a minimum, and drink mostly milk, orange juice, tea, and coffee. That alone goes a long way to being healthy).

As for why I'm an early 40s never married -- I decided around age 27 or 28 to never have kids (never had any already either). Soon afterward, it occurred to me that there's really no need, or even point, in getting married unless you're going to raise a family (especially given the risk of divorce and all it entails). I'll bet I'm not a rare exception among child-free people, either. So I think a large part of the non-marriage trend is associated with the rising child-free tendencies among people. So count on even the percentages of "never marrieds" to rise among seniors as time passes, particularly over the next 30 years.

[Braunwyn]

Originally Posted by Phil75230

Men's health and marriage: I tend to agree with Nutz (for once!!), the men who do get married are more likely to be healthier to begin with. As for unmarried men being less healthy, there may be a correlation but (1) married and divorced men are even less healthy than never-married men

says who?

(2) both unmarried men and unhealthy men tend to be of lower income. I have yet to run across an article that deals with that,

Deals with what? Census.gov is available to all. That's where a good bulk of the data comes from

(3) a higher percentage of unmarried men than married men cook less, which means more fast food consumption (self-explanatory),

That makes sense.

What I really want to see is a study looking at the following cohorts of men:

married, married-and-divorced (separated into kids and no kids), and never married.

Have you bothered reading any of the links provided in the past few pages? A bit of what you're looking for has been addressed..

In the end, the most the "married men live longer" claim proves (assuming its true) is that unmarried and especially married-and-divorced men need to become more educated and conscientious about their health. It's still VERY possible for these men to beat the odds and live a long and healthy life (My diet is at least 3/4 vegetables, chicken, fish, whole grains, and rice. I keep soft drinks to a minimum, and drink mostly milk, orange juice, tea, and coffee. That alone goes a long way to being healthy).

I don't know if it's just diet and health, really. Religious folk tend to live longer. This does't have much to do with god, but with community support and involvement. As men grow older, isolation becomes an issue. That's why, I bet, single women fair better than single men.

[Djuna]

Originally Posted by Black Jack22

Programmed subconscious instincts.

Uh huh.

And ESP...oh and consulting a clairvoyant.

Silly nonsense. No-one knows when they might drop dead. Even people with no medical issues have been known to suddenly die.

The fact of the matter is people choose to marry for love, sex, attraction, pressure and a multitude of other reasons.

The other fact is studies have shown married men fare better healthwise than unmarried and divorced men but on the whole marriage has benefits to both men and women.

Women on the other hand don't fare so well if they are unhappily married.

[Redisca]

Originally Posted by Djuna

And how would a woman know who is going to live longer?

What a completely ludicrous statement to make.

Djuna, it's no use. They already know we have evil superpowers.

[MattB4]

Originally Posted by Redisca

Djuna, it's no use. They already know we have evil superpowers.

Super Villainess Djuna cackles evilly as she plots her next attempt at destroying Mankind.
"How can I help Mistress", says her hideously deformed henchwoman, Redisca.
"Fetch me the engagement device. I have finally perfected the tool to bring all men to their knees."
"Brillant Mistress", comments Redisca as she lurches across the darken lair that is the hidden hideout for the organization of Evil Women NOW.

Soon men everywhere will be forever doomed by the acts of Djuna. Is there no hope for a hero?

[Braunwyn]

Originally Posted by MattB4

Soon men everywhere will be forever doomed by the acts of Djuna. Is there no hope for a hero?

Yes, Peter from Heroes. Yum!

[Redisca]

Oooh, an insult!

*drops panties*

[mtneer]

Interesting article-

It's True:They're Mad at You for CHOOSING to be single

It

[Phil75230]

Originally Posted by Braunwyn

As men grow older, isolation becomes an issue. That's why, I bet, single women fair better than single men.

Isolation is an issue only insofar that you can't get access to physical health services (there are at-home accidents I suppose, but I don't see a gender difference in these). Personally, I wouldn't care at all if I end up socially isolated in my old age, though that may be a personal temperament thing.* So I'd say it ultimately boils down to a matter of personal temprament and conscientiousness about personal health. Men who need less social interaction are likely to have the advantage here.

*I'm very much a "social life optional" kind of guy - a nice option to have but not necessary for my happiness.