Canadian Politics Today
Beyond Politics => General Discussion => Topic started by: Michael Hardner on June 22, 2017, 11:57:59 am
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I only got 3 paragraphs in before I had to leave this, but I can tell it's going to be a good read. People in China (men, apparently) work to shoo away mistresses, on commission from the wronged wife.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/26/chinas-mistress-dispellers
Why do I want to do this job ?
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There's no culture in the thread - I'm thinking of locking it.
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Given the considerable shortage of women relative to men in China, one wouldn't expect that mistresses would be a problem. I've read that the number of men in China who'll probably never have wives might be from 20 million to 60 million. It seems like women in China would have a good selection of available men to choose from and shouldn't need to be with who already have wives.
-k
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Although it may be counter-intuitive, monogamy benefits men more than it does women. Sure, women aren't treated like chattel, but in polygamous powerful men have the harems, the rich men have many wives, and the majority of men have nothing. Monogamy evened the playing field and allowed one woman for every man.
I think this article is a good example of the theory. As the Chinese become more affluent, it's no surprise that the men who can afford it have mistress issues while, as kimmy said, millions of men are without wives.
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Although it may be counter-intuitive, monogamy benefits men more than it does women. Sure, women aren't treated like chattel, but in polygamous powerful men have the harems, the rich men have many wives, and the majority of men have nothing. Monogamy evened the playing field and allowed one woman for every man.
I think this article is a good example of the theory. As the Chinese become more affluent, it's no surprise that the men who can afford it have mistress issues while, as kimmy said, millions of men are without wives.
That's interesting. I'd never thought of it from that point of view.
-k
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Monogamy is also a higher expectation of women than men in our culture because patriarchal capitalist societies require that men know the rightful heirs to their wealth.