PHILADEPHIA, PA —A study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School showed that American women are unhappier and less self-satisfied in general than they were in the 1970’s. Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, both studying economics, referenced studies from the 1970’s and found that women had reported being happier in general than men. Now, fewer women claim to feel as good, even though women are doing better financially in more careers.
Another study by Princeton economist Alan Krueger and four psychologists found that during the past four decades, men have gradually increased doing things that they enjoyed and reduced times spent doing things that they find unpleasant. Women report a different life plan. Although most women have replaced housework with other paid work, women now spend almost the same amount of time on tasks they consider unpleasant.
A New York Times analysis of both studies in an article summarized that women are feeling unable to accomplish everything that they need to and simultaneously — no matter what other things a woman has going for her — be as Stevenson told the Times “effortlessly hot.”
Stevenson went on about this pressure for hotness, saying, “When I was in high school, it was clear being a hottie was the most important thing, and it’s not that it’s any less important today. It’s that other things have become more important. And, frankly, people spent a lot of time trying to be a hottie when I was in high school. So, I don’t know where they find the time today.”
Also, the Wharton study concludes that women have made larger goals for themselves recently than in the past, which may point to why women are not as satisfied with themselves. These goals exclude their gender, although being a woman still means being expected to eventually abandon careers in favor of motherhood and without government-sponsored daycare or maternity leave of substance. Given that, it’s not a mystery why so many American chicks could be getting bummed out.
