Single Men Are More Worried About How It Looks to Others
- Understanding Men, What Men Think
Angry single women sometimes stumble onto this blog. Why are they angry, you ask? Beats the hell out of me. From what I can gather, society is so judgmental of their single status that they feel like second class citizens.
They may have a point (more of that coming in a second), but this is the wrong forum on which to make it, because I am the LEAST judgmental person when it comes to being single. I was single for the majority of my life, I have many single friends, and it seems objectively foolish to issue judgment on an intensely personal decision like marriage. The only thing I EVER argue in return is that a) most married people are way too caught up in their own lives to genuinely worry about whether you’re single. If you’re happy, we’re happy. b) whether angry single people like it or not, they’re in the minority. MOST people want to fall in love and get married, not spend their lives alone. Fact, not opinion.
Most married people are way too caught up in their own lives to genuinely worry about whether you’re single. If you’re happy, we’re happy.
Well, I thought of all of this when I was reading a summation of a study from Psychological Science magazine. I found the conclusion to be striking:
“While both genders were found to rely on their relationship for self-esteem, for women it is gained through their loving connection with their partner. Men were found to worry more about a loss of social standing should a breakup occur.”
Basically, women derive more self-worth from being in a relationship (as suggested in my post “Why Don’t Men Hate Being Single As Much As Women Do?) but MEN are the ones who really care how it looks to others.
“Men re ported bas ing their self-es teem on their own rela t ion ship sta tus (wheth er or not they were in a relationship) more than wom en, and this link was sta tis tic ally me diat ed by the perceived im por tance of rela t ion ships as a source of so cial stand ing,”
I didn’t see that one coming, which is why I’m sharing it with you.
So, male readers, are you concerned with what your friends and family think when you come home for Thanksgiving by yourself? Any women want to validate the results of this study?
The full article can be seen here:
Your comments and thoughts are appreciated below.
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