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”Each year since 1972, the United States General Social Survey has asked men and women: “How happy are you, on a scale of 1 to 3, with 3 being very happy, and 1 being not too happy?” This survey includes a representative sample of men and women of all ages, education levels, income levels, and marital status—1,500 per year for a total of almost 50,000 individuals thus far—and so it gives us a most reliable picture of what’s happened to men’s and women’s happiness over the last few decades.
As you can imagine, a survey this massive generates a multitude of findings, (see the full report by Wharton Professors at The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness but here are the two most important discoveries.
First, since 1972, women’s overall level of happiness has dropped, both relative to where they were forty years ago, and relative to men. You find this drop in happiness in women regardless of whether they have kids, how many kids they have, how much money they make, how healthy they are, what job they hold, whether they are married, single or divorced, how old they are, or what race they are. (The one and only exception: African-American women are now slightly happier than they were back in 1972, although they remain less happy than African American men.)
I was shocked to discover this report. So what do you think? Has women's liberation made women less happy or are there other reasons for women's unhappiness? I'm still processing this information and haven't come close to making a decision yet.
”Each year since 1972, the United States General Social Survey has asked men and women: “How happy are you, on a scale of 1 to 3, with 3 being very happy, and 1 being not too happy?” This survey includes a representative sample of men and women of all ages, education levels, income levels, and marital status—1,500 per year for a total of almost 50,000 individuals thus far—and so it gives us a most reliable picture of what’s happened to men’s and women’s happiness over the last few decades.
As you can imagine, a survey this massive generates a multitude of findings, (see the full report by Wharton Professors Betsy Stevenson and Justin Wolfershttp://www.nber.org/papers/w14969?version=meter+at+4&module=meter-Links&pgtype=article&contentId=&mediaId=&referrer= https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&priority=true&acti on=click&contentCollection=meter-links-click) but here are the two most important discoveries.
First, since 1972, women’s overall level of happiness has dropped, both relative to where they were forty years ago, and relative to men. You find this drop in happiness in women regardless of whether they have kids, how many kids they have, how much money they make, how healthy they are, what job they hold, whether they are married, single or divorced, how old they are, or what race they are. (The one and only exception: African-American women are now slightly happier than they were back in 1972, although they remain less happy than African American men.)
I was shocked to discover this report. So what do you think? Has women's liberation made women less happy or are there other reasons for women's unhappiness? I'm still processing this information and haven't come close to making a decision yet.
Women should have more choices, but they should not live like men (for most of them).
Why should their choice to "live like men" not be up to them?
What is living like a man anyways?
To the OP. I am happy as is my wife. Without feminism she would not be working in a male dominated field, she would have been relegated to being a house wife instead of being a programmer in the automotive field.
I'd be careful drawing conclusions. Women of my mother's generation (pre-feminism) were raised not to show discontent with their lives and many almost certainly would have been reluctant to do so. But 'not expressing discontent' and 'not feeling discontent' are most certainly two different things, which may ore may not coincide. Women in the post-feminist generations may feel more freedom to express unhappiness.
I'd be careful drawing conclusions. Women of my mother's generation (pre-feminism) were raised not to show discontent with their lives and many almost certainly would have been reluctant to do so. But 'not expressing discontent' and 'not feeling discontent' are most certainly two different things, which may ore may not coincide. Women in the post-feminist generations may feel more freedom to express unhappiness.
That is an interesting thought; however, men's happiness has shown a trend upward since 1972. Were men also not expressing happiness 40+ years ago?
Women's happiness has consistently declined since 1972, just a few years after Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique and founded the National Organization for Women. Coincidence? Maybe.
I'd be careful drawing conclusions. Women of my mother's generation (pre-feminism) were raised not to show discontent with their lives and many almost certainly would have been reluctant to do so. But 'not expressing discontent' and 'not feeling discontent' are most certainly two different things, which may ore may not coincide. Women in the post-feminist generations may feel more freedom to express unhappiness.
The question is why are women unhappy? And why are they less happy than men?
i'd be careful drawing conclusions. Women of my mother's generation (pre-feminism) were raised not to show discontent with their lives and many almost certainly would have been reluctant to do so. But 'not expressing discontent' and 'not feeling discontent' are most certainly two different things, which may ore may not coincide. Women in the post-feminist generations may feel more freedom to express unhappiness.
makes perfect sense.
how do you measure something that was not there to be measured?
how do you measure something that was not there to be measured?
Qualitative research involves looking in-depth at non-numerical data.
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