Whenever the topic of women being the breadwinners in relationships come up, there are always a handful of women (#NotAllWomen) who make the claim, "guys are uncomfortable dating women that make more than them!" Some said they had real, lived experiences validating that opinion. I've read stories from women with ex-partners who wanted them (or their friends) to quit their jobs, forgo promotions, or got suddenly toxic/mean when they witnessed her get an award/praise for achieving something in their career.
I'm assuming, for the purposes of this post and charitability, all these stories are 100% true and the woman bore zero responsibility for why the relationship ended. If you're a woman (or have a friend that went through this), ask yourself:
Do you really think these same relationships would have worked with the same exact guy, but richer?
Imagine an alternate universe where everything about the man in these stories is exactly the same, with only the "income variable" changed so he makes more than her. Are these hypothetical new relationships happy or stable? Or, with the benefit of hindsight, do you still see the same insecure man just finding other ways to put her/you down and feel powerful?
If it's the latter, then you have to concede that it never had much to do with money, but a values mismatch, bad morals, mental issues, and/or insecurities that will exist regardless of any income disparity. A lot of these stories I've read have me questioning if the guy has some undiagnosed personality disorder or a psychopath. I'd have an easier time believing income disparity to be a root cause if the example behaviors women provided (cheating, being a general asshole, laziness, or just being a legit crazy person) weren't the same common justifications for ending relationships where the man was the primary breadwinner.
If you really want to bite the bullet and say "yes, these relationships would've succeeded had he made more money than me," well then you have low standards both for yourself and the men you would date. You would accept being with a man who potentially views you as an inferior and who could turn on you if you became more successful during the relationship. You're okay being with a man that has a "fragile male ego" as long as that ego is kept in check with him making more money. How is that not settling? Or maybe you just think all men will get insecure and it's something you have to tolerate? But then how do you rationalize existing female breadwinner relationships that are stable?
It's not that women prefer men that make more than them, it's how some women are choosing to justify it. I don't have any problems with women who choose to date men richer than them. If you want kids someday, want to be a SAHM, and need a man who can provide during pregnancy and child rearing? OK, makes sense. You want to maintain a certain material standard of living because that's what you're used to? Great, do you. Dating men poorer than you gives you the ick and makes your vagina drier than the Sahara desert? Understandable, have a nice day.
If you truly believe there exists some connection between male insecurity and female income, then what you are implying (be it intentionally or unintentionally) is a guy pulling $80,000 a year will be toxic and insecure to his partner making $120,000, but that exact same guy will be perfectly happy and stable with a partner making <$40,000. I'm sorry, but I don't buy it. Relationships are more complicated than that. You're not "noticing a trend" if you say you've experienced it, you're just admitting you have bad taste in men.
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