In my twenties I spent some time studying a postgraduate degree. In my class there were about 25 people in total; the majority of whom were women. As a male I felt like a clear minority in the class, and quite out of place. Halfway through the course one of the professors approached us to let us know they were considering some of us for the prestigious PhD program. The PhD program would require an extra two to three years of study, during which it was unlikely we would receive any scholarships or government funding. The course was immensely prestigious however, and for those who graduated with a doctorate, the employment prospects and salary expectations would be much higher than for those graduating with the Masters degree. Four of us were considered for the program – myself included. Looking back now, I believe that I was the most promising candidate. Of the four candidates, I possessed two peer-reviewed scientific publications and had given three international conference presentations, while the other three candidates barely had a journal article between them. The successful completion of the PhD program would require candidates to be able to fund their own lifestyle, and pay for various expenses over the extra two to three years. I will describe the three candidates as follows. The first was an extremely attractive woman in her late twenties who had recently divorced her husband of several years, and had started a relationship with a younger, more handsome man. She came into a degree of wealth following her divorce, which she was able to use to fund her life during the PhD program. The second candidate was a girl of a similar age to me, who had a boyfriend with a high paying job. The two of them had at the time put a deposit on a flashy apartment in an expensive beachside suburb and were very well-off financially. The third candidate was a girl from a cultural background in which women rarely left home before getting married. She had therefore decided to remain living at home for the PhD program, while her boyfriend would provide her with the emotional support needed to get through the program.

I was unable to enrol in the PhD program. At the time I had no partner to financially support me, and I was not from a rich background. Also, as a male I felt incredibly emasculated as a student, and consequently felt the need to graduate as soon as possible and obtain employment. How was I able to pay for rent and food and support myself through another two to three years of study without having a rich partner to leech off? It wouldn’t have been possible. In the end a final decision was made. The three other candidates made it into the program, and I was left behind. I felt bitter for some weeks after the decision. I was mainly bitter because of the two women who had managed to get into the program regardless of their level of academic ability, but because they could secure themselves financially. I was also angry that they were both leeching off men in order to complete the course; either financially, and emotionally. Would they stay with these men once they completed the PhD program? Or would their innate hypergamy cause them to find higher-status males now that they were moving up in the world? The answer was pretty clear to me.