Women Are Far More Willing To Confront Relationship Problems Than Men
Love isn't exactly dead, women have just become increasingly more vocal when deep affections turn sour.
For instance, Jennifer Garner recently gave hubby Ben Affleck his walking papers when yet another Nannygate debacle surfaced in the media. A source told People magazine Ben "underestimated the work that marriage requires," which caused Garner to choose single status, rather than quietly live in unhappiness.
I have never been divorced, but I imagine it’s about as funny as a Blue Ivy/R Kelly joke, and certainly less comedic than Julianne Moore’s chatty breakup with Steve Carell in “Crazy Stupid Love.”
For any woman, dissolving a marriage can be an unforeseeable and life-altering event. But according to a new study by sociologist Michael Rosenfeld, 69 percent of divorces are initiated by women.
Though heading to Splitsville is usually a mutual decision in non-marital heterosexual relationships, women are still more inclined to speak the truth and request an out. Here's why, in today's social climate, women are actively confronting relationship woes.
Women are more vocal about leveling male privilege.
Though gender norms have changed significantly, most men aren't snatching up their girl’s surname like Zoe Saldana’s other half, or even going halfsies on household chores.
In recent years, major strides in equalizing gender roles at home and work have been made, but archaic expectations still bog down women who’ve turned the girlfriend guy into a hubby.
In his study, Rosenfeld noted,
Even though we no longer live in an era where wives are legally subordinate to their husbands, the institution of marriage still carries certain expectations.
Less than 10 percent of women hang on to their maiden name, signifying that men and women still grasp onto age-old, accepted subordinate/owner gestures.
There are some women who are slowly shaking unfair stigmas that surround being in relationships by balancing power dynamics in a twosome, like becoming breadwinners and demanding 50/50 partnerships.
Women are no longer tolerating unreasonable behavior.
Read: Women aren’t taking men’s sh*t.
Long gone are the days where f*ckboy ways are tolerated without consequence.
Female responses to a General Social Survey claimed single women tend to be more interested in marriage and commitment than single men.
But while a significant amount of women are granted divorce due to men's infidelity, other studies show women are canceling out their significant others for things like mental cruelty, gambling and boozing.
Regardless, whether couples are sporting matching wedding bands or can barely commit to exchanging keys, women are openly articulating their happiness, or lack thereof.
Attitudes about women, sex and social status are changing.
Sex isn't just a weapon that hangs like a guillotine over women's heads anymore. Side-eyes toward confident women with healthy sexual appetites are fading faster than Chris Christie's 2016 presidential bid.
Sexual liberation isn't a scarlet letter to be hidden -- as we've seen with Christine Ouzounian's rising celebrity -- but a freak flag flown with pride. That alone has influenced women to be less silent when problems arise with men.
Nowadays, women are owning their happiness and seeking it aggressively, whether that means fearlessly addressing matters head on or ultimately giving men the boot.
