Scientists from the British University of Bath surveyed over 42,000 people from 9 European countries (including Great Britain, Germany, France, Portugal and Poland) to determine their level of life satisfaction depending on who and to what extent supports the family. . The study included people in heterosexual relationships. Participants received questionnaires in which they had to determine their level of satisfaction based on a scale from 1 to 10 (where 1 is the worst result and 10 – the best result).
Is the woman the main breadwinner in the family? It is a threat to the sense of masculinity
The results are both predictable and quite surprising. It is not news that most of society believes that the traditional family model, in which men are the main breadwinners, is “correct”. However, as the survey results indicate, it turns out that this belief is so strong that most unemployed men prefer that no one works at home than that a woman supports the family.
Women who provide for a family clearly threaten unemployed men’s perception of their own masculinity. Additionally, they make them have even worse self-esteem due to the lack of work
– we read in the summary of the study, published on the scientific platform. The least satisfaction with this situation was recorded among nationalities more focused on tradition: Germans, Great Britain, Ireland and Spain. Interestingly, this tendency does not only concern men’s perception of themselves. Society plays a huge role here:
expects men to be the main breadwinners in the family. Our research has shown that when men are unemployed, entire couples are assessed more critically by society
– said the author of the study, Dr. Helen Kowalewska, quoted on the website. What men who are financially dependent on women fear are “gossip, ridicule and judgment” from other people.
The situation is slightly different in communities with high unemployment rates. This problem affects many people, so specific couples do not stand out. Being a man without a job “is seen as less unacceptable and outside the norm.”
Harmful expectations towards men
We hope that the results of our study will start a debate on the issues raised among both couples and policy makers. More needs to be done to break the link between family support and masculinity. This could include, for example, wider examination of gender norms in the school curriculum and campaigns to encourage more men to take shared parental leave.
Ultimately, we must continue to challenge the ingrained belief that men should be the breadwinner so they don’t feel like failures when they can’t meet those expectations
– concluded the authors of the study.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
