Is Our Political Identity Overtaking Our Religious Identity When Choosing a Mate?
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
Stephanie Coontz’s provocative opinion piece in today’s New York Times touches on some interesting dilemmas facing men and women in modern America. It’s well worth reading and is a fun conversation starter with your spouse and parents. But, it was the above infographic accompanying Coontz’s commentary that caught this editor’s eye.
For the most part, the top five traits that men look for in potential wives have changed very little in 70 years. In 1939, the five most important qualities were:
- Dependable character
- Emotional stability, maturity
- Pleasing disposition
- Mutual attraction, love
- Good health
And, in 2008:
- Mutual attraction, love
- Dependable character
- Emotional stability, maturity
- Education, intelligence
- Pleasing disposition
The big mover: education and intelligence. It climbed from #11 to #4. Good health dropped two positions, and I suspect will plummet further down the list in the coming decades. The romantic in me is heartened to see that love and attraction are sitting atop the field.
For the purposes of this blog, though, the precipitous drop in having a similar religious background and the slight rise in men seeking a woman whose political background is similar to his own is intriguing. It seems men’s personal identities are mirroring our larger cultural identity. As U.S. society has become increasingly divided and hyper-partisan in political terms, men are assigning more value to having a like-minded partner in the political persuasion department. Will this trait continue to rise in importance? I hope not.
Source: “Measuring Mate Preferences: A Replication and Extension” by Christine B. Whelan, University of Pittsburgh, and Christie F. Boxer and Mary Noonan, University of Iowa
Source: beingblog
Oldenburg’s cherry is never ignored on a winter afternoon. (Taken with instagram)
I’m surprised at how the top five traits men look for in women has changed very little in 70 years. The big mover though: education and intelligence. Good health dropped two positions.
My baby takin cards seriously (Taken with instagram)
On the way (Taken with instagram)
Saturday morning haircuts by Bella. Four heads, four colors. (Taken with instagram)
A foggy St. Paul morn. (Taken with instagram)
Sunken freeways cheat our vistas. (Taken with instagram)
Ice Rink Photo Poesy. Today, Rilke: “I live my life in widening circles / that reach out across the world. / I may not complete this last one but I give myself to it.” (Taken with instagram)
My goodness. This is a tragic political figure.
A ravishing trailer for “Buzkashi Boys,” a narrative short film shot entirely on location in Afghanistan.
The film was produced by the Afghan Film Project, a “non-profit foundation formed to tell uniquely Afghan stories while building the capacity of Afghanistan’s fledgling film industry.” You can learn more and support them with their KickStarter campaign here.
Source: azmatzahra
Lucian + I went for a walk by the RR tracks in the woods. Found a bike, metal sculpture, granite pavers, + a bat. (Taken with instagram)
Pass the Basilica each day on my way to work. Religion never felt so far away. (Taken with instagram)
Unearthing a Cherokee-Slave Narrative at a Plantation Home
by David McGuire, guest contributor
An exhibit detailing the construction of the historic house mentioned. (Photo courtesy of Chief Vann House Museum)
Some stories in our families, and in our culture, get passed down. Some lay hidden, or are actively forgotten. Public historian Tiya Miles has worked on the latter — unearthing the painful histories of African slave ownership by Cherokees in the 19th century.
In this short excerpt from our upcoming show, “Toward Living Memory,” Miles explains how one fragment of an archival document led to a meaningful change at the plantation home of Cherokee Chief Vann.
Source: beingblog
The boys set up a series of look-and-touch kiosks with paper airplanes + sports drawings. (Taken with instagram)
senior editor of a national public radio program called Being; public radio fan; media junkie; family man who longs for subtle glimpses of beauty in the ordinary
