Women often{{U}} (1) {{/U}}that dating is like a cattle{{U}} (2) {{/U}}, and a paper just published inBiology Letters by Thomas Pollet andDaniel Nettle of Newcastle University, inEngland, suggests they are{{U}} (3) {{/U}}. They have little cause for complaint, however, because the paper also suggests that in this particular market, it is{{U}} (4) {{/U}}who are the buyers. Mr. Pollet andDr. Nettle were looking for{{U}} (5) {{/U}}to support the contention that women choose men of{{U}} (6) {{/U}}status and resources, as well as good looks. That may sound common sense, but it was often{{U}} (7) {{/U}}by social scientists until a group of researchers who called themselves evolutionary psychologists started investigating the matter two decades ago. Since then, a series of experiments in laboratories have supported the contention.But as all zoologists know, {{U}} (8) {{/U}}can only tell you so much.Eventually, you have to look at{{U}} (9) {{/U}} populations. And that is what Mr. Pollet andDr. Nettle have done. They have examined data from the 19t0 census of the United States ofAmerica and discovered that marriage is, indeed, a market. Moreover, as in any market, a{{U}} (10) {{/U}}of buyers means the sellers have to have particularly attractive goods on{{U}} (11) {{/U}}if they are to make the exchange. The advantage of picking 1910 was thatAmerica had not yet settled down, demographically speaking. Though the long-colonized eastern states had a sex{{U}} (12) {{/U}}of one man to one woman, or thereabouts, in the rest of the country the old adage "go west, young man" had resulted in a{{U}} (13) {{/U}}of males. Mr. Pollet andDr Nettle were thus able to see just how picky women are, {{U}} (14) {{/U}}the chance. {{U}} (15) {{/U}}looking at the whole census, the two researchers relied on a sample of one person in 250. They then{{U}} (16) {{/U}}the men in the sample a socioeconomic status score between zero and 96, on a scale drawn up in 1950 (which was as close to 1910 as they could get). They showed that in states where the sexes were equal in number, 56% of low status men were married by the age of 30, {{U}} (17) {{/U}}60% of high status men were.Even in this case, then, there are women who would prefer to remain{{U}} (18) {{/U}}rather than marry a deadbeat. When there were 110 men for every 100 women (as, for example, inArizona), the women got really{{U}} (19) {{/U}}. In that case only 24% of low-status men were married by 30 compared with 46% of high-status men.As the men went west, then, so did their{{U}} (20) {{/U}}opportunities. |